Run
by PartyFavours
Summary: Cain finally catches up with his wayward sister. He's expecting a showdown, but gets more than he bargained for.
1. Chapter 1

Hello all,

Just to explain a bit about why I've written my next story.

It came from a PM request from Priv, who asked for me to write a specific scene. Then the rest of the story was built around it. It jumps around a lot in terms of time, but not so much to get confusing.

I love the characters of Chas and Cain and this will mainly focus on them, as well as Aaron. It's a bit of a defence of the Chas character, because I think she's often quite unfairly assassinated on various internet sites, and I have a feeling this may get even worse once the affair is exposed.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. Please review and tell me any thoughts you have, good or bad.

17:00 27th February 2013 Lough, Dingle Peninsula, County Kerry, Ireland

Cain Dingle approached the rundown cottage quietly, trying to see in through the windows, checking for any sign of his bounty. The only light in the house was shining from a small window on the top floor. He looked around to check nobody could see what he was about to do, but he needn't have worried - there was nothing for miles around, no other buildings, just farmland to the east and the sea to the west. He could hear the tide slapping against the pebble beach, but couldn't see it in the dark. He took the crowbar from his jacket pocket, slipped it into the gap of the door and gave it a short sharp tug. The old wood gave way straight away, not even making much of a noise.

He'd been waiting for this moment for months, chasing after her across land and sea to get revenge for his family, and make her face up to what she'd done. He heard someone scamper heavily above him and then the distinctive sound of a bolt lock sliding into place. She was definitely here, and she must have heard his arrival. It was show time.

He walked quickly up the stairs, not bothering to keep his actions stealthy; she was too clever to be tricked into thinking he'd gone away. When he got to the top of the stairs, he saw that all doors but one were slightly ajar. There was no light coming from any of the rooms anymore, she'd obviously switched off the one that had been on. He banged on the closed door hard with the crowbar, hoping to make her jump. He was rewarded with a tight whimper from behind the door.

"You're a hard one to find" he spoke loudly and clearly, with as much menace as he could possibly muster, which, with him being Cain Dingle, was a lot.

He waited for a response, not sure if she was going to bother answering him. After a couple of minutes, he heard a voice say "go away, please. Just leave me alone". For a minute, he thought it couldn't be her, that he'd got the wrong house. He'd never heard her sound so…small was the only word he could find to describe it.

"You're dreaming if you think I'm just going to turn around and walk away now. I'm taking you back to face the family, if I have to drag you there by your hair" he threatened.

He heard another whimper. He hadn't expected the hard man act to work quite so well on her, she'd seen it a million times before. Never on her though. She'd been the one person he'd thought he'd never have to threaten, and how wrong he was. He banged on the door again and raised his voice, "I mean it Chas, get out here now, or I'm crowbarring this door like I did the last one".

"Might not be as easy" Chas replied in that same tight, small voice, but Cain heard a bit of her trademark sarcasm seeping through, "there's three bolt locks on this one".

"Expecting a soap burglar?" he asked snidely.

"Something like that" she answered.

He sat down with his back to the door and rested his head against it, going for a different approach and trying to talk her into coming out.

"Never had you down as a coward" he said, "running away like that".

"I had my reasons" came the response.

"And what reasons did you have for destroying Our Debbie's life? Sleeping with her fella when she was pregnant and looking after a dying kid?"

"None" the small voice replied. He heard her take some deep breaths, hold back sobs. "I'm everything you've said I am Cain, I'm a cheap, dirty whore with no family loyalty and I hate myself for what I did".

"Then why?" Cain questioned, "why did you do it when you knew what would happen? You've never betrayed the family before, not once".

He waited for a response, heard her moving around inside the room, breathing heavily, whimpering slightly, and wondered if she'd gone slightly mad living on her own in such a remote place for the last few months. Finally, she replied, "you're not going to believe me, but I loved him. I honestly loved him Cain and I thought he loved me. He told me…" she trailed off again.

Cain scoffed, "and you believed him? You're nothing but a daft tart, and to think you're the one with the university education! He was telling you what you wanting to hear so you'd drop your knickers and give him what Debbie couldn't – a bit of uncomplicated fun. And you were happy to oblige weren't you?"

"It wasn't like that, I swear" Chas protested. He heard her stop moving suddenly and bite back a moan and he started to think something wasn't quite right about the situation.

"What are you doing in there?" he asked angrily, banging on the door. He was trying to weigh up the possibility of her attempting to escape through the window, but even with her well-known recklessness, nobody would attempt a drop that high.

"Look, there's a pub up the road…" Chas started to say.

"Oh I'm well aware of your pub up the road, it's a right nice bar is Murphy's. They're all right friendly there too. Said I was looking for my friend, showed them your picture, and your name and address came tumbling straight off their tongues. Well, not your real name, eh Chas? I have to hand it to you, you've got a sense of humour, calling yourself Sandy Thomas" he laughed.

Inside the small bathroom, Chas was struggling to control the waves of pain that were flooding her nervous system. She needed her brother to leave, he couldn't be there right now. She breathed through the pain as quietly as she could, biting her lip so hard it bled. Once the pain eased off a bit, she attempted to speak, to try again to talk Cain into leaving her alone.

"I'll meet you in Murphy's in half an hour, I swear to you…please Cain…"

Cain was on his feet again, livid at her request, "do you think I'm an idiot? I take one step out of this place and you'll do another runner! How stupid am I Chas? You've been playing me for a fool for too long, laughing at me, at Debs behind our backs…"

"No!" Chas found enough strength to shout back, "I never laughed at you, I hated myself for doing it, I…"

"Not as much as I hate you! And Debbie hates you! And Charity, Zak and Lisa…they all hate you Chas. Maybe they wouldn't have hated you so much if you hadn't been such a coward. Now come out here and get this over with, because I'm going nowhere!"

Cain heard Chas gasp loudly, then something dropped heavily to the floor. He couldn't figure out what she was doing in there, there was no escape from that room unless she climbed out of the window or topped herself. Which Chas would never do. Would she? Cain thought he knew his sister, but he'd realised this past year that she was a stranger to him. He worried now that she was keeping him talking outside while she took the coward's way out inside.

"What are you doing in there?" he banged on the door again, "Chas? You'd better not be doing anything stupid?!"

"Depends what you mean by stupid" Chas ground out through gritted teeth, her legs had given way, and she was now on her knees with her head in her hands trying her hardest to stop the pain from taking over. She couldn't control her breathing anymore.

"Open the door Chas, I mean it! If I don't hear it unlocking in the next ten seconds I'm breaking it down" Cain screamed at the door, a horrible sense of foreboding taking over. He'd known as soon as he'd stepped foot in the house that something wasn't right and now all he could see in his head was Chas lying on the floor in a pool of her own blood.

There was no response, no movement, no bolt sliding free.

He went to work with the crowbar, pulling as hard as he could, trying to push the wood surrounding the locks away, but it was no use. He tried the other side, where the door was attached to the frame by its hinges, and found it started to give way. After four pulls on the crowbar, he threw it to the ground and started kicking frantically, shouting "Chas, move away from the door, it's coming in" before he gave one final kick and the whole thing flew forwards into the bathroom, splinters of wood flying everywhere.

He heard the door make contact with her and realised she hadn't listened to him and moved away. The door was still attached to the wall by the bolt locks, and he could hear the wood creaking in the eerie silence. He pulled the door back and quickly unbolted it, throwing it into the hallway so he could get to the body kneeling on the floor, face down buried in her arms, unmoving. He pulled a cord and bright light flooded the room as he knelt down next to his sister and shook her shoulder.

"Chas! Chas! Wake up" he pleaded with her. She groaned as she came around and then her groan turned into a moan as the pain broke through the haze and shocked her back into focus.

"Can you stand up?" Cain asked, still panicking. He could see that she had a cut on the back of her head where the door must have hit her full on – it was already bleeding heavily. She kept her head down, her hand reaching to her wound, touching it tentatively.

Finally, she spoke groggily, "there's ice in the freezer downstairs and a first aid kit in the first kitchen cupboard".

Cain didn't need telling twice, he ran downstairs, turning all the lights on as he made his way through the cottage, into the kitchen and grabbed what he needed. He then flew back upstairs only to find the bathroom empty.

"You stupid bitch" he growled to himself, following the trail of blood easily into a different, bigger room. "You don't give up do you?" he snarled as he flicked the light on and turned around.

But what he saw made him drop everything he was carrying. Struggling to stand up on weak legs, leaning against her bed and attempting to breathe through her obvious pain, was his sister – heavily pregnant and seemingly in the last stages of labour.


	2. Chapter 2

17th August 2012 Woolpack pub, Emmerdale, Yorkshire, UK

She sat in her room and stared at the test, willing the plus symbol to magically transform into a minus. She couldn't understand how this had happened, they'd been careful, she'd always been careful. Ever since she'd had Aaron, she'd known she wasn't a natural mother and she didn't want to put another kid through what she'd put Aaron through. She'd been there herself; abandoned by her own mum when she was young. At least she'd known she was leaving Aaron in a good home with a father who loved him and could provide for him. Her mother left her with Shadrach Dingle.

She stopped daydreaming and tried to focus on what she was going to do now. Everything was such a mess. Her and Cameron, as wrong as it was, was special and despite the fact it was never going to work, she could never deny her love for him. But things were really bad between them at the moment – their failed attempt at running away together led to bitterness on her part and a crazy need for repentance on his. When he proposed to Debbie in front of the whole pub she was sure the whole village would hear her heart break. She'd been able to handle her self-loathing when she thought there had been a point, a goal in sight, something worth being so despicable for. But when she realised she'd been lied to the whole time, that she'd never been a serious contender for Cameron's heart, she'd felt sick at the sight of her own face in the mirror every day since. She'd thought she'd made herself ill with guilt, but now she realised it had been morning sickness.

She knew what her options were, and she knew already where her heart was leading her. She wished she had someone she could talk to, but there was nobody she could trust with this. Charity, Cain and Debbie were out for obvious reasons, Diane would hate her for what she'd done and what it would mean for Debbie and Sarah. In their twisted logic, they'd thought that carrying on in secret would protect Debbie and make sure Sarah wasn't hurt. Chas saw now that this was them being cowardly, that they should have ended it straight away or had the guts to not sneak around behind everyone's backs.

She was tempted to tell Gennie, to ask her advice as she already knew her secret. But she was seven months pregnant herself, she didn't want to burden her with more worries, not when she'd got so upset after finding out about the affair. She felt so alone.

But this wasn't an alien feeling to her. She'd faced many challenges on her own in the past and scraped through okay, why should this be any different? Maybe it was a good thing her dad had been such a waste of space – he'd prepared her for a hard life. A plan started to form in her mind, and although what she was thinking of doing terrified her, she knew she was doing the right thing, and she'd not felt like that for a very long time.


	3. Chapter 3

19th August 2012 – 10:00 Marseille Provence Airport, France

Aaron was having a cheeky cigarette outside the arrivals hall as he waited to pick up his mother. He'd seen on the board that her flight had landed ten minutes ago, but he guessed she'd be at least another twenty minutes waiting for her undoubtedly huge amount of luggage. She never packed light. He was still unsure why she was visiting as she was very cryptic on the phone, just asking if she could stay with him for a bit and making him swear not to tell anybody she was coming. Someone tapped him on the shoulder and he turned around expecting to see a jobsworth airport worker asking him to put out his cigarette. It was, in fact, his mum.

He put his cigarette out on the floor and then opened up his arms for a hug as he smiled and said, "bienvenue en France!"

She laughed and gave him a huge squeeze, "God I've missed you" she said as she clung on like a limpet.

"You too" he replied, and found he meant it. It had been hard adjusting to life on the run and his emails and phone calls from his mother had stopped him from getting too homesick.

Eventually, they broke apart and he took a proper look at Chas. She looked different, wearing flat boots, jeans and a loose jacket, no heels, no tight top, and – most surprisingly – no makeup. He looked around for her luggage, but couldn't see any cases. "Where's your stuff?" he asked her, looking past her inside the airport to see if she'd left it all there, "they blow your luggage up if you leave it unattended nowadays you know?"

Chas smiled and showed him a black holdall behind her, "don't panic, it's here" she said.

"Is that it?" Aaron asked, amazed.

"All I need" she said sadly. He saw that there was something really wrong, but thought it'd be best to get her home before he started grilling her so he picked up her bag and carried it to the car for her.

The drive to Aaron's flat was filled with small talk and news about friends and family back in Emmerdale. Aaron was amazed to hear about Ashley's meltdown and Paddy and Marlon's new drama. He'd had a quick conversation with Paddy on his wedding day, but he'd not caught up with him properly for a long time.

When they got to the flat, Aaron showed Chas in and put her bag in the spare room. She looked around the apartment with pride, reflecting on what a success Aaron had made of himself since he'd left. She was already regretting coming to stay with him, she seemed to bring him nothing but heartache and he didn't deserve to be lumbered with her problems. He came into the lounge and saw her looking at a photo of Debbie and Sarah with tears in her eyes.

"Mam" he got her attention, "what's going on?"

"Cup of tea and a story?" she requested and he nodded, going into the kitchen to pull out cups and teabags and milk.

"Ed not around today?" Chas asked, sitting on the sofa as he made their drinks.

Aaron had hoped to avoid that question for a while longer, but bit the bullet and confessed all. "We're not together anymore, I moved out of Ed's. It wasn't working; I think he was getting bored of me. And I might have met someone else…" he told her, expecting to be read the riot act.

But Chas just nodded, "thought there was a strange lack of rugby paraphernalia for this to be Ed's apartment" she mused, "who's this someone else?" she asked him.

"Someone I work with on the rally cross team" he replied, "we just clicked. I really like him Mum, but we're trying to take it slow".

"How many times have you had sly sex in a cupboard at work?" Chas asked as he put her tea down in front of her, making him jerk and slosh tea all over the coffee table.

"Mum! Look what you made me do! That is not something I will ever discuss with you, ever!" he told her off as he went to the kitchen to get a cloth, ignoring her wicked grin. He could feel redness float up his neck and face, because she'd got it spot on; they were always sloping off for sex in secret places at work, they couldn't keep their hands off each other. And he loved it.

"Do I get a name at least?" Chas asked, enjoying winding her son up.

"You don't deserve one" Aaron huffed, then answered her anyway, "his name's Carl. And yes, I know that's a weird coincidence and it really put me off even speaking to him at first. But there's something about him, draws me in like a magnet, you know what I mean?"

Chas nodded, she knew exactly what he meant. She looked down at her tea, no longer able to maintain eye contact with her son as she thought about what she'd done.

"Your turn now" Aaron prompted her as he sat next to her on the sofa.

"I don't know if I can" she said, suddenly scared. She wasn't sure where to begin, how much to tell him. But her secrets were pressing down on her now, making her weary, she felt like if she didn't talk to someone, she'd break.

"Why all the secrecy?" he asked her, "are you in trouble with the police or summat?"

"No. Nothing like that. I'm not in trouble with anyone at the moment, but secrets never stay secret and I needed to get out before they…" she couldn't finish her sentence, her fear about the affair becoming public knowledge took the air out of her lungs.

"Before who what?" Aaron was confused but could see that Chas was trying her hardest. He tried to be patient.

She looked up again, staring straight into his eyes as she spoke, "Aaron, I've done something terrible. I hate myself for it and I won't blame you for hating me. But you've got to promise me, however you feel, you won't tell anyone I'm here until I've gone again. And I will go, straight away if you want me to. I'll go now if you'd rather not know it. But please, promise…"

"I promise, I won't say a word. You're really scaring me now Mum, just tell me what you've done"

His phone started to ring and they both looked at it in surprise. The screen read "Cain Calling" and Chas went chalk white. He thought she was going to keel over.

He answered the phone, "Cain? What's wrong? No I haven't…." as he listened to a frantic Cain tell him his mum had run off and nobody knew where or why, he walked into the kitchen and brought the sugar bowl back in with him, adding two more spoons to his mum's tea and stirring it. "Well yeah, I'll let you know if I hear anything, you sure you don't know why?...Call me if you find her. Okay, bye." He put the phone down and pointed at Chas's tea, "drink that before you pass out".

She brought the cup up to her mouth with shaking hands and Aaron couldn't imagine what had happened to make his loud-mouthed, hard as nails mother so scared of a call from her own brother. He waited until she'd finished the drink and then encouraged her to start talking.

Chas told him about everything that had happened up until her discovery two days ago, but decided that bit could wait. She saw the disappointment on his face, the anger and betrayal and she was certain she'd managed to wreck things with him yet again. As she spoke, the tears ran freely, but she knew she had no right to be crying, to be asking for sympathy, so she ploughed on with her tale until she finally reached her conclusion at Cameron's proposal.

When she'd finished speaking, she felt drained, but strangely light, like just saying the words out loud, confessing her sins, had unburdened her ever so slightly of her guilt. Aaron still looked angry and she braced herself for the torrent of abuse that was surely about to come.

"Slimy two-faced bastard" he fumed, "he can't get away with it!"

"Who?" Chas asked, confused.

"Cameron of course, telling you he loved you and then dumping you for Debbie. I thought he was alright an' all" Aaron seethed.

Chas wasn't sure she was hearing this right, and felt she had to explain, "Debbie nearly lost the baby because of us, we had no choice…"

"Don't defend him Mam, he's a weasel. I'm gonna…"

"Aaron, calm down. You're not gonna do anything, because it's over. He does really love Debbie and she needs him now. She's close to giving birth, and then once she has, she's got weeks of chemo with Sarah to prepare her for the marrow transplant. And that's if everything goes right. Cameron did wrong, but I did worse. I've betrayed my whole family, I went with Debbie's fella when she was relying on me for support. Why aren't you calling me a whore? Why are you not throwing me out?" it sounded to Aaron like she was begging him to punish her. But he found he couldn't.

Who was he to judge, when he'd cheated on Ed? He could tell that she loved Cameron, that she'd been torturing herself for weeks about what she'd done. He knew how much his mum loved her family and how loyal she'd always been to them and therefore knew that the last thing she would have intended to do was hurt any of them. He could see how frightened she was and it made him want to protect her. Being away from her for so many months had made him realise how much she had supported him after Jackson died. She'd never judged him for what he'd done, never thrown him out, even when he'd tried to kill her in a car crash. She'd just been there to support him and tell him he was being an idiot. How could he not do the same for her?

"You're an idiot, you know?" he told her gently as he moved across the sofa to her and hugged her tightly. He felt her sag into his embrace and shudder as her tears became huge racking sobs, and she finally let go of the tight control she'd had over her emotions for the last few months.

They sat there for half an hour, Chas crying, Aaron hugging, until she was quiet and he realised she'd fallen into an exhausted sleep. He lay her down gently and pulled the throw off the back of the sofa to cover her. He knew he'd only heard part of the story, but he was willing to wait until she was ready to tell the rest.


	4. Chapter 4

17:20 27th February 2013 Lough, Dingle Peninsula, County Kerry, Ireland

"Chas?" Cain asked, suddenly completely out of his depth. He just stood and stared at her, not able to properly process the information presented to him.

Chas squinted at him through exhausted eyes - seeing him looking so lost, she could almost believe he was the teenage Cain she used to know, the one that wasn't yet completely consumed by anger. Her head was swimming and it was a struggle to stay conscious and upright. This wasn't how she'd planned to give birth; in her bedroom, a month early, with concussion and a vengeful brother watching. Another contraction hit her and she bit her lip again, scrunching up her face with pain. Her legs couldn't hold her anymore and she fell to her knees on the wooden floor.

Cain became unstuck from his spot and moved forward to help her, but she instinctively covered her head and cowered away from him when she saw him move towards her. He realised just how scared she really was. "I'm not gonna hurt you, you daft cow. You need help" he told her.

"Not from you I don't. Just go away Cain, leave me alone" she tried to shout at him, some of the old Chas passion coming back. But she slurred her words slightly and her voice was hoarse. She looked down at her hands and they were covered in blood from her head. "Just ring me an ambulance and leave, please. You've got what you wanted now haven't you? Me on my knees begging? Well…"

She couldn't answer because another contraction hit her hard. She leaned against the bed, gripping the duvet as if her life depended on it, trying to breathe through the pain. She was forcing herself not to cry out, not to give Cain the satisfaction. She heard him talking on the phone.

"Yeah, ambulance please. It's my sister, she's in labour, she's also had a bang to the head, it's bleeding pretty badly. What? Erm, Lough, near Dingle. It's the old Fishing Cottage off the N86…she's 35…yeah she's awake, but she's a bit woozy…oh I dunno…Chas how many weeks…"

"nearly thirty five" she managed to grind out, anticipating the question. She had a feeling she knew what the next one would be too.

"nearly 35 weeks…what?...how far are what? I don't know, Chas…"

"less than a minute"

"less than a minute. What does that mean? Eh? What, now? I'm not looking down there mate, I already told you she's my sister…."

"Hang up the phone Cain" Chas tried to shout at him, but ended up whimpering. He did so anyway, and again tried to get near her. As much pain as she was in, she wouldn't let him touch her. "You've done enough" she growled at him, "now leave me alone".

"The bloke on the phone said the baby's coming right now. You need some help and I don't see anyone else here, do you?" Cain shot back.

"It's too early…" Chas said weakly as more pain flooded through her. She was starting to lose her focus, her head was floating and she couldn't see properly out of her left eye. "It's not even eight months…I can't…" she lost consciousness and Cain knew that this wasn't good. He caught her before she fell to the floor and dragged her as gently as possible onto the bed. He ran into the bathroom and filled a tub with cold water and grabbed as many towels as he could carry from a rail. When he got back in the room, he poured the cold water over Chas's face, shaking her and shouting her name. The water made the blood from her head wound run in ruddy rivulets down her face and she woke choking on the water, tangy from her own blood.

She was disoriented, the agony of childbirth warring with the need to sleep. A contraction hit and childbirth won the fight as she cried out with pain, becoming more lucid, as if her body knew what was needed from her mind.

Cain wasn't sure how he'd found himself in this mess; he'd come in revenge and been blindsided by this revelation. But he'd be damned if he was going to be held responsible for the death of a mother and child, especially when it was his sister whose life was in danger.

"Tell me what you need me to do Chas, I'm not going anywhere. Forget about everything else right now, I'm here for you, it's going to be alright" he said loudly as he pushed back her dark matted locks from her pale, wet, bloody face. She was too exhausted to argue, needing all her energy for what was to come, she spoke through quick pants.

"Large blue bag in my car boot. Keys are by the door" Cain seemed uncertain about leaving the room, "don't worry, I'm in no fit state to be doing another runner" she told him.

He left the room and she took a few seconds to gather herself and think about what she was about to do. She pulled herself onto all fours and then onto her knees, with the help of the wrought iron headboard to steady her. She unfolded the towels Cain had brought and laid some on the bed, then rolled her dress up to her thighs. She felt for a head and could feel a mop of hair where her baby's head was crowning. It was such a bizarre feeling, and she was sure if she wasn't in such a terrible situation, she'd marvel at human nature, but she had other priorities. She'd been fighting the urge to push for so long, but she knew now was the moment. Her next contraction hit her and she pushed as hard as she could, one hand holding onto the headboard, and one feeling what was happening. She felt a new, different but equal pain as the baby came rushing out in a burst of flesh and fluid. The tiny girl dropped safely onto the towels guided by Chas's hand, and Chas quickly scooped her up and held her close, not quite believing what she'd just done. She sat back on her heels and unwrapped the cord from where it had been caught around her daughter's ankle. The baby sneezed and coughed at the same time, expelling fluid from her passages and allowing her to take her first breath of air. Which was quickly followed by her first cry.

Cain had been looking frantically for Chas's keys, which weren't by the front door as she'd said, and weren't in the living room or the kitchen either. He was becoming increasingly frustrated, and worried that he'd left Chas alone when the emergency services man had told her she would be giving birth in the next few minutes.

The front door was still open from when he'd jimmied it before. He closed it to and saw the keys sticking out of a lever lock. He grabbed them and ran out to her car, an old banger that'd seen better days, unlocked the boot and retrieved the bag. When he got back in the house he heard a noise that stopped him in his tracks: the crying of a new-born baby. Realising he'd missed it, he ran back upstairs to find his sister, exhausted and covered in the blood that was still running from her head wound, but smiling with pride as she stared at the little towel-clad bundle she was holding. She'd done it on her own, like everything she ever did, he supposed. Cain was reminded of a time, many many moons ago, when a thirteen year old girl sat, shell shocked, with a baby in her arms, beseeching help from her big brother.

Cain's movement stirred Chas and her smile faded, fear flickering again across her features. He brought the bag slowly over to her and peered into the towel to see the tiniest baby he'd ever seen. She'd stopped crying now, her eyes were shut and one of her hands was opening and closing, as if she was waving at him. He couldn't help but smile.

Chas went into the bag with one hand as she held the baby close to her in her other arm. She pulled out a baby blanket and lay it down in front of her, then gave the baby a good wipe with the towel and placed her down onto the blanket. She wrapped the baby tightly and cuddled her close again. She was quickly losing the last of her energy, and prayed the ambulance turned up before she passed out again, not wanting to leave her baby with Cain.

"I take it this is the spawn of Cameron" Cain asked. He'd walked over to the window and was watching for the ambulance. She ignored him. "Is he shacking up with you now? Was this your plan all along? Is he going to turn up in a couple of minutes for you both to play happy families together, whilst Debbie sits at home alone?"

Chas shook her head tiredly, "I've not seen him or spoken to him since I left the village. It was over between us weeks before I left, he chose Debbie. He said he loved Debbie more. So I'm done with men that treat me like dirt, and that includes you. I've got all the family I need here now. Me and her, we'll be fine on our own. Do you really think I'd have run off for any other reason? I'm no coward, I face up to my mistakes, but from the moment I found out I was pregnant, she came first. And I'll die before I let you take her away from me, so do your worst Cain, but I'm going nowhere and neither is she."

"That's all very gallant" Cain told her, "but you're kidding yourself. If you don't care about the rest of your family back home, you wouldn't be sending gifts at Christmas and birthdays. You wouldn't be getting news from your little spies. Who is it, by the way? I thought for ages that it was Gennie keeping in contact with you, but now I'm not so sure."

He looked into the room at her when she didn't answer and saw that Chas's head was dropping and lifting as she battled to stay conscious. He rushed over and took the baby from her before she dropped her. Mother and daughter were still attached by the cord, so he sat next to Chas and patted her face with his free hand, shouting her name to keep her awake. She had been leaning against the headboard, but now sat forward and threw up over the side of the bed.

She couldn't control anything anymore. Her whole body was rebelling against her, her head banging, her vision swirling, her ears buzzing and her throat now burning. Her contractions were starting again, her body trying to expel the placenta, but it was too much pain and she couldn't take it anymore. She heard a voice in the distance, calling her name and she tried to reply.

"Please, please, please, keep her safe. Don't let them get her. Promise me, you'll not let him take her away"

"Shhh, shhh" was all Cain could say. He kept an eye on the baby, now sleeping in the crook of his arm, and an ear out for the ambulance.

"No, please" she slurred desperately, "if something happens, if anything happens to me…you can't let her go to them. They'll… punish her for what I did…"

"Chas shh, I promise, nothing's going to happen to either of you, you're safe" he said loudly so she could hear. Her eyes fluttered, her face twitching.

"Tell Aaron I love him" she croaked, "I'm so sorry, Cain". She couldn't fight the darkness anymore and she fell into oblivion. Cain's heart was in his mouth, he felt sick with fear, not knowing what to do. He heard the ambulance approach and a shout from downstairs.

"Up here!" he shouted as loudly as possible, waking the baby up and making her cry. He held her tightly, jigging her up and down a bit to try to soothe her as he heard people clattering up the stairs. As soon as the paramedics came in the room, they flew to Chas's side and the baby was ripped out of Cain's arms as they began treatment of both. One paramedic checked over the baby, whilst two others assessed Chas.

"What's her name?" a female paramedic asked Cain in a thick Irish brogue.

"Sandy. Sandy Thomas" Cain answered.

Can you tell me what happened?"

"She was unconscious. I had to kick the bathroom door in, but she was in the way" he said, not telling them the whole truth. They seemed to accept it.

"Baby's very small, bit jaundiced, but all good" said another paramedic, "I'll get the cord tied off and then we'll need to get them both in ASAP".

"Is she going to be okay?" Cain asked.

"They'll both be a lot better once we're on our way," was the reply, "we can't be sure if this is from the head injury or a pregnancy complication, so we're going to get her up to hospital straight away".

They were very quick in loading Chas onto a stretcher and into the ambulance. They let Cain ride with her, holding the baby, who they'd wrapped in a special blanket to keep her warm.

As they rode, Chas's words kept running round and around his head. _"Please, please please, keep her safe. Don't let them get her. Promise me, you'll not let him take her away". _She had been talking about him, her own brother. She'd been terrified that he would take the baby away, or punish her for the actions of her parents. And the worst thing about it was she'd been right to think that, the way he'd been behaving the last few months – the phone messages and emails, the threats and interrogation of other members of the family who he thought might be protecting her whereabouts. He'd become obsessed with finding her and punishing her no matter the cost. Now he wondered if the cost was going to be her life.


	5. Chapter 5

**Way back into the past for this chapter. It's a different take on how Chas ended up pregnant with Aaron as it's not really addressed in the show that Chas ended up pregnant at 13. So I've made my own explanation up. **

January 5th 1992 – Skipdale Detention Centre, Yorkshire, UK

"Dingle, you're out" a voice called down the corridor into the games room. Everyone turned to look at Cain, who was busy scribbling his name onto the side of the pool table with a compass. He gave them a shrug and went out onto the corridor to see what was going on.

"You what?" he asked the warden who'd shouted; Mr Miller, a small chap with a greying moustache who was always on at him to tuck in his shirt and buck his ideas up.

"You're out, go and pack your things up. Now please" he replied, as officious as ever.

He did as he was told, then Miller led him to the governor's office, where he was asked to come straight in. He sat down and waited for the governor to start talking.

"Mr Dingle. I am sure you're aware that you still have another three weeks of your sentence to serve…"

"Yes Sir" he replied.

"…well, due to a family emergency…"

"What family emergency?"

"…the courts have granted permission for an early release so that you can sort your affairs out".

"What affairs? What's happened" Cain asked again, frustrated by the lack of decent information.

"A member of your family was taken into hospital yesterday. You were down as next of kin"

Cain automatically assumed his dad had been on another bender and ended up getting his stomach pumped again, "great. Just what I need. Which hospital is he at then?" he asked, bored of the same routine.

"Actually…" the governor replied awkwardly, "it's your sister…."

* * *

January 5th 1992 – Hotten General Hospital, Yorkshire, UK

Cain walked into the room and barely believed his eyes. His little sister, not even fourteen, was lying in a hospital bed hooked up to a drip, fast asleep. Her eye was black, and her cheek red and swollen. And next to her in a small cot, was a baby, her baby.

The nurse talked softly so she didn't wake either of them. "It was a difficult birth by all accounts, she's really lucky she didn't end up in surgery. She's got very small hips and baby got a bit stuck coming out. It ended up being a forceps birth and it really took it out of her, so she's having a well-earned rest now before she meets baby. She's severely dehydrated and underweight, so we've put her on a drip for now and we're gonna keep her in a couple of days. Ah, here's Sharon now" she said indicating a lady coming through the door with a briefcase and a clipboard. Cain could tell straight away she was from the Social.

"Mr Dingle?" she checked.

"Yeah" Cain confirmed, refusing to be polite.

"Sharon Denholme, Social Services" she offered her hand to shake, but Cain looked at it like it was covered in growths, so she eventually let it drop. "Could we have a quick word outside please?" she asked, maintaining her professional demeanour.

Cain knew better than to argue, so he followed her out into the corridor and into a family room. He sat in one of the plastic chairs lined up against the wall and she took the one next to it.

"I have to be frank with you Mr Dingle, I have major concerns about Chastity's welfare, and that of the baby. We've not been able to locate your father, have you any idea where he might be?"

Cain shrugged, "you know where I've been until half an hour ago. How am I supposed to know? What's Chas said about where he is?"

She didn't answer his question, but carried on asking her own, "when was the last time you heard from him? It's just we've been trying to contact him for two months about Chastity's truanting. There's never been anyone in the flat when we've called and, according to the landlord, the rent's three months in arrears, but somebody's changed the locks without his permission so he can't get in."

"I've not heard from him since I was inside, but that don't mean anything, we're not exactly close. Has Chas not said where he is?" he tried again. He wanted to know what Chas's story was so he could corroborate it.

"Your sister hasn't been forthcoming with any details. She just keeps saying he's gone to Filey on a bird watching trip, but can't say how long he's there for or where he's staying" she told him.

Cain laughed despite himself at Chas's ridiculous story, "oh yeah, he's a big fan of twitching is our dad. What happened to her face?" he asked, more serious.

"Two beat police came across a fight on the estate. When they dragged Chastity off the child she was punching, she collapsed and was brought to the hospital. She refused to speak, but luckily one of the policemen knew her".

"Lucky" Cain scoffed.

Sharon Denholme finally lost her patience with the sullen and obstructive young man in front of her. He didn't seem to give a damn about the situation and she felt like she was banging her head against a brick wall trying to get across how serious it was.

"PC Milnrow stayed with Chastity for five hours, held her hand and bought her chocolate and cola from the machine before he was called out on a job. Then he came back after his shift to check she was okay. So please don't start casting aspersions – she'd have had no one if he hadn't been there. Now, the doctor wants to keep both of them in for at least one night, but if we've not found your father, or another acceptable guardian to look after them by the time they are discharged, then they are both going to have to go into emergency foster care."

Cain was suitably chastened by this. He knew PC Milnrow well; he'd lifted both him and Chas many a time over the last eight or so years and Shadrach more times than anyone could count. He was a decent sort for a copper and he'd always had a soft spot for Chas, mostly because she made him laugh, even when she was being told off. He was glad that there was someone familiar there for Chas, even if it was bacon. He wasn't sure what the social worker wanted him to say, he couldn't conjure his dad up out of thin air, and he didn't want to. He needed to speak to his sister before he made any decisions.

"I'll sort it" he told her, "can I talk to Chas now?" he asked.

She nodded, "yes, but I'll be back tomorrow morning to discuss this further". She left, annoyed at herself for lecturing the lad, she'd read their file, knew that he was just as much a victim of his circumstances as his sister, he was just older and more hardened to them than she was. She hated her job sometimes.

Cain went back into the room and took a seat by Chas's bed. He watched her sleeping, sucking her two little fingers, curling her other two fingers around her nose just like she'd done since she was a baby. No amount of teasing had ever got her to stop and she'd ended up with two smaller fingers on one hand than the other. She looked like a child when she slept and he wondered how this had happened. She'd never been interested in boys, she'd insisted she wasn't going to end up like all the other girls on the estate; single mums at sixteen in council houses, with no lives and no futures. She'd always been determined to go to university and become a lawyer. He couldn't see any of this happening for her now.

He looked more closely at her injuries – a fat lip, bruised eye and cheek, and her knuckles were all bust up. She was a mess, like some sort of savage. Then he looked at the baby sleeping in the cot next to her, a sign above its head which read 'Baby Boy Dingle'. A boy. He had a nephew. He walked around Chas's bed to take a look at him. Cain couldn't believe his skinny little sister had managed to grow another human inside her and keep it hidden for so long. He reflected on how scared and lonely she must have been.

The baby woke and started to cry and he backed away, sitting back down on the other side of the bed. Chas started to stir, her eyelids fluttering open, her fingers leaving her mouth and rubbing her eyes. She winced in pain, then looked at Cain, staring right through him at first until she'd woken up properly, then recognising him and frowning at him. She was about to ask him what he was doing out of borstal when a nurse came into the room and she clamped her mouth shut. She'd been mithered to answer questions since she'd been brought in and was bored of having to deflect them.

The nurse went to the baby and picked him up out of the cot, bobbing him up and down and talking to him, "shh shh Baby, look who's awake to meet you now. It's Mummy! Just in time for a feed because I think you're hungry aren't you little fella?" she spoke in a saccharine sweet high-pitched voice that grated on the two Dingle kids.

Chas suddenly found her arms full of screaming baby and she had no idea what to do. She looked to Cain for help, completely out of her depth, but saw her own bewilderment reflected in his face. She was screwed.

"Right Chastity sweetheart, we're going to learn how to feed Baby" the nurse told her, "I'll just pop out and get you a feeding pillow, won't be a minute".

When she left the room, Cain finally spoke, "what the hell happened to you? Are you stupid?" he asked. He hadn't meant to be so harsh, but he was so used to talking to people like that, he didn't know any other way.

Chas nodded her head at him but didn't speak. She didn't know how to answer him. She was completely overwhelmed by the whole situation.

The nurse came back in and shooed Cain out while she tortured Chas with a breastfeeding lesson. She was numb to everything, the small creature that was latched to her, feeding from her, didn't feel like it had been part of her. It felt like an alien. She went through the motions, following the steps the nurse showed her, burping him and trying him with more milk, but he'd had his fill so the nurse took him off her and put him back in the crib. The baby went straight to sleep and Chas stared at it, trying to feel something for it. But she found she couldn't feel anything at the moment.

Cain came back in and sat in his previous spot. He indicated her bruised face and hands, "I hope the other girl came off worse" he joked, trying to break the ice.

"It was Jarrod Finnegan, and Milnrow said I broke his jaw" she replied, a hint of pride in her voice.

"What were you doing fighting?" Cain asked.

"He said I were fat" she replied simply.

"Fair enough. Where's Shadrach?"

"Ireland"

"Not bird-watching then?"

She grinned at him, as much as she could grin with a bust lip.

"How long?"

"Since August"

"Why didn't you go and stay at Colleen and Zebediah's like usual?"

"They're the ones that banished me dad, I'm not staying with them. Anyway, it'd have meant sharing a room with Our Del, and she's a cow. Would've grassed me up."

"What's he banished for this time?" Cain asked, ignoring the comments about their cousin.

"Nicked off 'em they said. Then sold them a dodgy cooker. Serves 'em right for buying it off him. Idiots"

Chas sulked at the unfair treatment of their father by the rest of the family. She was fiercely loyal to him, though he didn't deserve it.

"And bunking off school? Why?"

"Why d'you think?" she asked testily, indicating her still swollen stomach.

"But you know the rules – you created the code in the first place – don't bunk off, don't draw attention to yourself, don't let on that Shadrach's disappeared."

"If school found out I were up the duff, they'd have been straight onto the Social. I had to change the rules a bit"

"How've you paid for stuff?"

"Nicked some food, but mostly sold homework. I've been going to the central library every day, doing a few homework assignments for money, reading what I've been missing in class and keeping warm at the same time"

"Trust you to bunk off school and hang out in a library" he tutted, but was amused, and heartened to see she'd not changed completely. "What about the flat? Was it you that changed the locks?"

"Yeah" she grinned, "that pervert Mallam was sniffing round all the time, asking where Shadrach was. I got Jimmy the Peg to do it as a favour, before Mallam chucked us out."

"Clever girl" Cain approved. She'd always been the one with the street smarts, he'd always just gone in head first without thinking until she showed him it was better to plan stuff. If he'd planned the last job properly, he wouldn't have ended up in the clink.

The baby sneezed, making them both jump and turn to look at him. Cain could see Chas and himself in the baby, but wondered who else he was seeing.

"What you calling him? You need to name him soon, or that nurse is going to keep calling him Baby" he said, doing an impression of her high-pitched voice.

Chas snorted in amusement. "Aaron I think" she replied.

"Why?" Cain asked, hoping it was some clue to the father.

"Milnrow's first name. He's alright is Milnrow".

Cain knew that was Chas's understated way of admitting she couldn't have done it without the cop, that she'd needed someone and she was glad he'd been there. And Cain was glad too, so he allowed her to give the baby a policeman's name. "Don't tell anyone else where that's come from, will you?"

"Don't be stupid, course I won't".

"You gonna tell me who the dad is?"

Chas shrank back into the bed, and dropped her head, ashamed of herself. She'd not been sleeping around like other girls on her estate. She'd only done it once, and it wasn't what she'd wanted. Not really. Not that she'd call it rape, or assault, just overly persuasive, pressured. He'd been so nice as well, offering to help her with a project she'd been working on in the school library. She'd wondered why a sixth former had wanted to hang out with a second year, but assumed he was just really into history, or felt sorry for her because she never wore a uniform and had free school dinners. He was funny and charming and she liked spending time with him, so she agreed to go to his for tea. And when he got wine out of his parents' drinks cupboard, she agreed to have a small glass. And he'd kept filling it up while she was trying to talk to him about something or other. Then his hands had been all over her and he kept telling her this was what she wanted. And she started to believe him. She let him do what he wanted, her head too fuzzy to argue. Afterwards, he told her she was brilliant, walked her to the bus, gave her a peck on the cheek. But when she sobered up, she felt ashamed, disappointed in herself, and vowed never to let it happen again. So she avoided him at school, told him to leave her alone, even kneed him in the crotch when he wouldn't get the message. He called her a stupid bitch, and they ignored each other from then on if they ever passed in the corridors or lunch hall.

But there was something she couldn't ignore, and that was an absence of period. One month, two months, three months and nothing. She wasn't stupid, she knew what it meant. She just didn't know who to tell. They broke up for summer holidays and then Shadrach got banished and did a runner. She was alone, apart from the boy growing inside her. She found it a comfort sometimes, at night, when she was barricaded in her bedroom, buried under three blankets to keep warm, reading by torchlight and he was kicking her gently, reminding her of his presence. Sometimes, she'd pray that she'd wake up the next day and he had disappeared. She borrowed books about birth and scared herself, books about adoption and upset herself, books about families, proper families who loved each other and looked after each other, and drove herself mad wishing she knew what that felt like. Then she started reading books about history again, about war and death and famine, the circle of life repeated through time. And she stopped dwelling on things and got on with her life the best way she could.

Cain was still waiting for an answer. She knew he'd wait all day, he wouldn't give up. Part of her wanted to protect Gordon, tell Cain it was a random boy whose name she didn't ask. Why cause more trouble? Cain would beat him up and then end up straight back inside. But then, a bigger part of her wanted to punish Gordon, wanted him to feel a small portion of the agonising pain she'd just been through for the last twenty hours. So she told him.

"Gordon Livesy?" Cain repeated, surprised, "that geek in my year at Hotten comp?"

"Yeah. He's in sixth form now" she said through a yawn. She was drifting back to sleep, her exhaustion clear.

"So he's seventeen?"

A sleepy nod.

"I'm gonna kill him"

"I wouldn't bother, he's not worth it. Feel free to rough him up a bit though. But don't get caught Cain. I need you".

With that, she fell back to sleep and Cain left to find his quarry.


	6. Chapter 6

19th August 2012 – 05:00 - Woolpack pub, Emmerdale, Yorkshire, UK

Diane was woken by what she thought was the sound of the back door being shut and locked. She sat up in bed and looked at her clock – 5am. Far too early even for Chas to be up and about, despite the funny mood she'd been in lately. She heard a car start at the back and, curiosity winning over tiredness, she pulled herself out of bed and peeked out of the curtains to see a taxi pulling out of the car park. She walked quickly, but quietly through to Aaron's old room at the front of the pub to see if she could see who was in the cab, but she was too late, just seeing a silhouetted head in the back as it drove past the bin truck that was coming into the village on its round. Shrugging it off, she crept back to her room and slipped back into bed for a couple more hours sleep, putting her earplugs in so that the bin men didn't wake her.

When she surfaced four hours later, she plodded downstairs, surprised that Chas wasn't there on her fifth cup of coffee. She walked to the kitchen area to put the kettle on, then opened the cupboard to get coffee. There, leaning against the mugs, was a large white envelope with her name scrawled on the front in Chas's distinctive handwriting.

Suddenly wide awake and full of apprehension, she took the letter to the table and sat as she opened it. Inside the large envelope was a smaller envelope, and an official document in a black folder. She opened the small envelope and read the handwritten note.

_Dear Diane,_

_ You're the closest thing to a mother I've ever experienced and for _

_that you'll always have a special place in my heart. I hope that whatever _

_happens in the future, you'll remember all the closeness we've shared over_

_the last ten years and all the happiness we've created together behind that bar._

_I know I will._

_For reasons I can't go into, I can't stay in the village any longer. I also can't tell_

_you where I'm going, but be assured I'll be safe and well and you don't need to_

_worry about me. _

_You don't know how hard it's been the last couple of days, knowing I'm going _

_and not being able to say goodbye properly, face to face. I think at times you _

_thought I was going mad, especially when I started blubbing at that advert on _

_telly last night. It was because I'm going to miss you and this place so much. _

_You saved me Diane, twenty times over you saved me and I thank you for that. _

_I have arranged with my solicitor to sign over 30% of the business into your name. _

_I can't help you run it anymore, and the money that I used to buy it was never mine. _

_So have it, do what you want with it. All I ask is that the profits from the 20% I still _

_own will carry on going into my bank account for the time being. I'm going to need_

_to cover my mortgage and some sort of an income wherever I end up. If this suits you_

_(and I beg of you, please accept this) then all you have to do is sign the enclosed _

_contract and send it to my solicitor. _

_Tell my family I love them and I'm sorry. Please don't try to track me down . Burn_

_any correspondence you receive for me._

_All my love and apologies_

_ Chas_

Diane looked around the room, wondering if this was some kind of joke. She flipped through the document and saw that it was indeed a transfer document with Chas's signature scrawled in all the relevant parts. Her hands shaking, she read the letter again, trying to make sense of the words, to find some subtext beneath them.

She pulled back her chair, walked upstairs on unsteady legs and pushed Chas's bedroom door open. It was bare. All of her stuff had been removed, most of it, Diane assumed, was in the three large boxes that were on her bed, a post-it note on the top of each. One read "_for Gennie_ _x_", another "_for Ding Dong x_" and the last "_for you x_". She couldn't bear to open it, instead going into her own room and retrieving her phone. She found Chas's number and pressed the call button. Straight to answerphone. She decided to leave a message.

**"Chas, it's Diane. If this is some kind of joke, it's not funny. Call me back please, we need to talk about this."**


	7. Chapter 7

19th August 2012 – 16:00 Marignane, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France

Aaron was making cheese omelettes in the kitchen when he heard his mum bolt out of the lounge and into the bathroom, where she threw up loudly. He frowned and took the pan off the heat, recent events starting to become clearer by the second. He took her a glass of water and found her sat on the floor by the toilet. She looked green.

"Here" he said passing her the water, "good job you had a nosy round the flat earlier or you might have ended up puking in my wardrobe" he joked.

She tried to laugh, but ended up kneeling over the bowl and throwing up again. Convinced she had nothing more to throw up, she wiped her mouth with some tissue and flushed the toilet before taking a sip of her water. "Sorry about that" she said shakily.

"I'm assuming it's Cameron's?" Aaron asked, shocking Chas with his bluntness. She didn't think he'd jump to the right conclusion so quickly. But now he'd put it out there, all she could do was face his candour with her own.

"You assume correctly" she replied, too wrung out to even cry.

"You gonna hurl again or shall we continue this in a more ambient environment?" Aaron joked, offering her a hand. She smiled and took it gratefully, letting him haul her to her feet. "Jesus, you can tell, you've already put on a few pounds" he joked, earning himself a slap on the back of his head from Chas.

"Cheeky beggar, I have not" she laughed. It was strange being able to be so honest about it, to even be joking about it, with Aaron, of all people.

When they went into the lounge, Chas smelt the cooked cheese in the omelettes and balked again. She stepped back out into the hallway. "Sorry love, it's the cheese I think" she said as she waved her hand in front of her face to try to stop herself feeling so queasy.

"Go and sit in your room and I'll be in in a minute" Aaron told her, opening all the windows in the kitchen and lounge, throwing the omelettes in the bin and then putting the bin bag straight outside.

He went into the guest room – his mum's room – and found her sat on the bed with her arms hugging her knees. She still looked a bit green around the gills and he wondered if there was more to it than being pregnant.

"Are you okay? Do you need a doctor?" he asked as he perched on the end of the bed.

"Nah, I'm fine ta kid, it's just morning sickness"

"It's four in the afternoon" he replied and she laughed.

"One of the many lies they feed you about pregnancy. Morning sickness strikes any time, morning, noon and night. Another lie is that it only lasts the first few weeks. I was chucking my guts up right up to eight and a half months with you" she told him.

"Bummer" he replied, smiling at hearing her talk about the past – he'd never heard her speak about that time of her life before, not that he'd ever asked her to.

"Yeah, bummer" she agreed, "should've known you were gonna be trouble" she smiled.

"What are you gonna do?" Aaron asked her.

There was no hesitation, "I'm keeping it. I've made up my mind and I'm not throwing this chance away, I might never get another, and I think I'm ready now, I think I could be a good mum. Not like…"

"Hey, you're a good mum to me now aren't ya?" Aaron reassured her, seeing her falter.

"No. Look what I've done, brought trouble to your door" she replied, "you don't need any of this. And if anyone finds out…"

"They're not going to, not from me. I promise. But what about Cameron?"

"What about him? He chose Debs, that's fine, I understand, but it means he doesn't get to know about this. It's too dangerous, he's too soft, never knowing what he wants and I'm not letting him have a say in my life ever again. I need to stay safe now, that's the only reason I've done this, to make sure if it all kicks off, this little one doesn't get caught in the crossfire".

Aaron nodded in understanding, he was so proud of her for being so brave and doing what was right for his little brother or sister. "Wow" he exclaimed as that penny dropped.

"What?"

"I'm gonna be a big brother" he grinned and Chas followed suit, relieved that this had gone so well. The French lifestyle must really have had an effect on Aaron as he was so much more chilled out over there. Or perhaps it was his new fella, mused Chas. Either way, she was glad he had been so understanding.

Aaron told her she could stay as long as she wanted, even encouraged her to stay long term until the baby was born, but she said she wasn't going to make any decisions until she'd had at least a week to think things through.


	8. Chapter 8

29th August 2012 – 18:00 Marignane, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France

"_Chas, it's Diane. If this is some kind of joke, it's not funny. Call me back please, we need to talk about this."_

"**Hi Love, it's me. Diane's just called to say you've gone? If there's something happened, or you need to stay here for some reason, you know you're more than welcome. Just phone and tell us you're safe please love, you've got everyone worried" **

"Chas, it's Cain, what are you playing at? Call me back"

"_Hiya Kid, do you fancy going into town tonight? Jai's looking after Noah so we could go for cocktails at that new place? Let me know. Ciao"_

"_Scrap the last message, I've just heard. What's going on? Cain's doing his nut in wondering why you've done a moonlight flit, and as much as I love anything winding him up, I'd quite like to know too. Call me back, we can meet up and talk about whatever it is, on the down low if you want?"_

The messages went on and on, Chas felt dizzy at the sheer number of them, and not just voicemails, but at least 30 text messages. Gennie, Katie, Diane, Lisa and Belle, Cain, Charity, Debbie and Paddy had all contacted her in one form or another. And she felt guilty that they were worrying so much, their worry increasing as time went by. Then she heard a message from Cameron…

"Chas, it's me...I don't really know what to say…is this to do with us? Why have you just run off like that? Please come back…I miss you. Everyone is missing you…"

And she knew that she'd done the right thing getting away. Just hearing his voice still made her ache with a mixture of love, anger and regret.

She sent a text to Gennie saying '_Hi. Absolutely no need to worry about me, I'm fine. Please tell everyone I'm fine. Love you very much and I'm sorry. Look after yourself and Bump. Chas x x x' _and then switched her phone off again.

Aaron came back from work and went straight to the bathroom for a shower. She went to the kitchen and plated dinner up, taking it out onto the balcony so they could enjoy the balmy evening as they ate. She went back and got them both drinks, beer for Aaron, lemonade for herself – she was missing wine already – and was just starting on her food when Aaron came out, hair still wet from his shower.

"Good day?" she asked him as he sat down and cracked his beer open.

"Yeah, pretty good ta" he replied after taking a large gulp.

"How's Carl?" Chas asked, trying to keep a straight face as she looked her son in the eye.

"He's fine. Like he was fine yesterday and the day before when you asked. And no, he won't be visiting the flat any time soon" Aaron told her. He'd stopped getting wound up or embarrassed after the fifth day of the same conversation. Now he just played along, knowing it was a game his mum enjoyed playing and one he secretly enjoyed too. "How was your day? Get up to owt?" he asked her.

"Yeah, dead busy. Got up, went for a jog, did some oil painting, met up with some friends for lunch, then back here for a quick change and spent the whole afternoon water-skiing. What larks!"

"And your serious answer is…?"

"Feels like I spent most of the day hugging the toilet"

"Again?"

"Yeah. Managed to get out for a walk though. Picked up some groceries and beer."

"Cheers"

"It's nice round here, the people are really friendly"

"Are they?"

"Yeah, once you get talking to them. Really helpful"

"I can't get anyone to speak English. How did you do it?"

"Didn't. Spoke French."

"What? How?"

"Well, you open your mouth and move your lips…"

"Have you been eating sarcastic pills or something? I mean, how do you know how to speak French?"

"School. Did A-Level French. Got an A. Then did a French Literature module at uni. I thought I'd have forgotten it all, but as soon as I started speaking, it all flooded back. Like riding a bike really."

Aaron was gobsmacked. "So when you've been watching the French channels on TV this week, it wasn't just to wind me up?"

Chas laughed and shook her head, "don't be daft. There's winding someone up, then there's just being weird".

"So, you knew I was going to France and you didn't think to maybe mention that you could speak the language? Maybe offer to teach me some?" Aaron asked, his temper flaring slightly.

"I didn't actually know you were going though, did I?" Chas shot back, on the defensive now, sensing Aaron's anger, "you told me you weren't going. The first I heard of it was when you turned up in your court suit to announce you were doing a runner".

Aaron could hear the grief beneath her words, and knew it still hurt that he had trusted Cain over her to help him run away. "Mum, I'm…"

Chas raised her hand to stop him, "ancient history. Doesn't matter anymore" she said. She pushed her plate away from her, no longer hungry.

"You've hardly eaten anything" Aaron pointed out.

"Feel a bit iffy"

"Have you kept anything down today?" he asked her, worried at how pale and tired she looked. She shook her head to say no. "I think you should go see a doctor" he told her, "see if they can prescribe you something for the sickness. It can't be good for either of you, can it?"

"I'm not registered here, I don't…"

"I get free private health care for myself and my family through Rally Cross France. I'll ring up and get you an appointment for tomorrow and I'll take you there myself" he insisted.

"Thanks love" she replied, grateful for his support. She didn't want him to know how worried she was that something was wrong. She was never this bad with Aaron, she'd barely kept anything down for days and it was starting to take its toll on her body.

"Mum?"

"What?"

"Will you teach me? French, I mean"

"Course I will darlin'. I'll try my best anyway. You got any books?" she asked.

Aaron nodded and went inside to find the books he'd bought when he'd first arrived with Ed. They sat on the balcony for the next three hours, Chas patiently talking Aaron through the basics of the French language, finding pleasure in teaching her son. And he enjoyed being taught, hearing his mother rolling her r's and them both laughing when he struggled to copy the sound.

The sun finally set and Aaron realised Chas was on the verge of nodding off. "Time for bed" he said, closing the books and carrying them inside. Chas followed, completely knackered, but thrilled about the closeness she and Aaron were beginning to share, hopeful that being a mother was something she was finally beginning to master.


	9. Chapter 9

18:00 27th February 2013 Dingle District Hospital, Dingle Peninsula, County Kerry, Ireland

When they got to hospital, Chas was taken straight into the resuscitation area and the baby up to the maternity unit to be properly assessed. Cain was encouraged to go with the baby as he wouldn't be allowed to stay with his sister whilst they worked on her. They assured him they'd keep him updated with any news.

The baby was given the all clear, weighed in at 5 pounds 2 ounces, but the duty midwife assured Cain that this was an acceptable weight for a 35 week old baby.

"Sure, she did well to build her up to that weight didn't she with all the problems she's been having, bless her" the midwife said as she read the history chart marked 'Sandy Thomas'. Cain just nodded as he had no idea what she was talking about. When she left them alone, he looked at the chart and had to google some words he didn't understand on his phone, like 'pre-eclampsia', 'gestational hypertension' and 'Hyperemesis gravidarum'. He realised that Chas had had a pretty rough ride with this pregnancy.


	10. Chapter 10

16:30 27th February 2013 Lough, Dingle Peninsula, County Kerry, Ireland

Chas opened the front door and locked it behind her, leaving the keys in the door. She was beyond tired. She'd been sent home early from the pub because she'd nearly passed out carrying a box of crisps. Her back ached and she'd been getting slight cramps all morning, but her boss Fianna, who was the eldest of nine children and knew everything there was to know about pregnancy, reassured her they were just practice pains for the real thing. All the same, she'd told her to go home and get a warm bath because she looked pale. She didn't argue, wanting nothing more than to crawl into her bed and stay there for a week. She was lucky that Fianna was so understanding. Although she'd kept herself to herself as much as possible since moving to the village, she got on well with the older woman, who was like an Irish version of Lisa – kind and maternal – but daft as a brush with it. Chas counted her blessings that she'd given her a job at the pub.

She made her way slowly upstairs, hand on her belly, trying to rub away the discomfort of another cramp. She went to her bedroom and sat down on the bed, slightly out of breath from climbing the stairs. She'd got used to being out of breath most of the time, and the palpitations that often went with it. The headaches and nosebleeds were harder to bear, and at times, when she'd felt at her lowest, she'd wondered whether it was worth it. But then her daughter would kick her, remind her she was still there, and she'd know she'd put up with it all ten times over again as long as she came out healthy.

A flashing light on her mobile caught her attention. She'd left it charging on her bedside table that morning. Aaron was the only one who had her number and she knew he was on a two day course in Le Mans, so she wasn't expecting him to call. She reached over and took it from its dock. She saw she had ten missed calls and one answer message, all from Aaron, and her heart flipped over. Something bad, it must be. Had he been in an accident? She rang his mobile but it went straight to answerphone, so she listened to the message instead. And as she listened, a cold dread rose slowly through her body.

"_Mum, it's me. Where are you? You need to get away, Cain knows where you are. He's already in Ireland. Call me as soon as you get this, I'm on my way."_

The female voice announced the time of the message – it was left over an hour ago. She couldn't move. Her heart was racing and the room was spinning. What was she going to do? She put her head as far down in front of her as she could, which wasn't very far with her bump in the way, and took a few deep breaths as she figured out a plan. When everything had stopped spinning, she stood up and went to the wardrobe, reaching to the back to pull out her trusty black holdall. But when she'd pulled it free and straightened up again, she had a really painful cramp, which made her double over in agony. It lasted half a minute, and as she rode it out, she thought to herself, 'this baby has the worst possible timing'. When it had eased off, she stood up and started to walk to her drawers to pull out the essentials to pack. But as she walked, she felt a large gush and froze in horror at the realisation that she was in labour.

"So much for practice pains, Fianna" she mumbled as she carried on with her packing. She knew that she'd probably be in labour for a while - she'd had over twenty hours of agony before Aaron had decided to make his entrance – if she could just drive herself to the hospital in the next town over, she may be safe. She changed out of her wet clothing, slipping into a comfy dress, but she'd only just pulled it over her when another pain hit her, even worse than the last. She looked at her watch. It hadn't even been three minutes since the last contraction, how was that possible? How was she going to make her escape now? She looked out of the window at the road below. It was already dark, and she couldn't see much from the small window, just a few lights twinkling in the distance. She went as fast as she could back downstairs and turned off all of the lights in the house and made sure both front and back doors were locked; there was no point in making things easy for her brother.

Another contraction hit and she cried out in pain. This was too fast and too painful, even if she didn't have an angry, borderline psychotic family member coming for her, she'd still fear for her life at this point, and more importantly, that of her daughter. She'd been warned about all the risks involved with pre-eclampsia and knew it was imperative she gave birth in a hospital, where she and the baby could be monitored. She went back upstairs to get her phone when she heard someone outside. She froze, listening carefully for a sign of who it may be. When she heard the wood of her front door splinter, she knew immediately it was Cain and she moved as quickly as she could to the bathroom, flicking her bedroom light off as she went. She slid all three bolt locks into place and sat on the edge of the bath, holding her breath against the pain of another contraction and listening to his footsteps as they got nearer.


	11. Chapter 11

30th August 2012 – 16:00 Clinique de Marignane, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France

Chas sat tapping her foot and biting her nails as she waited for her appointment. She was so nervous, expecting the worst, but not sure what the worst could be. Aaron was trying to distract her by getting her to translate French car magazines for him, enjoying the novelty of her being able to speak the language. But it wasn't working, he could see she was a bag of nerves and the quicker she saw the doctor the better.

"Mrs Thomas?" a voice called out, and Chas looked at Aaron in surprise.

"My name's Aaron Thomas over here, couldn't give my real one" he told her, "so I told them you were Sandy Thomas" he smiled.

"Could've warned me" she laughed as she stood up, took a deep breath and went into the room. Aaron waited outside.

Half an hour later, she finally re-emerged, holding a few leaflets and looking much brighter. He stood up to greet her, "everything okay?" he asked.

She nodded, smiling at him, "yeah, it's all fine. She was really nice."

"What did she say?" he asked, linking his arm through hers. They started walking out to the car park.

"It's severe morning sickness" she told him, then looking down to read something off one of her leaflets, "otherwise known as hyperemesis gravidarum"

"Is it serious?"

"Can be, if I don't control it. But she's prescribed me some vitamins and antihistamines that are safe to take, they should help. She also told me to try eating cold food cos it's less smelly and to get one of them seasickness bands. And if it's still bad, go back and see her."

"It took half an hour to prescribe you vitamins and hayfever tablets?" Aaron joked.

Chas shook her head, grinning at him now, "no, she wanted to put my mind at rest that everything was okay with the baby, so she performed a scan" she said, pulling out a grainy photo from underneath the leaflets and presenting it to him. He smiled at her excitement and took the photo from her, looking closely, but he couldn't make anything out.

"What is it?" he said, laughing.

"Loch Ness Monster. What do you think? It's your sister."

"Really? They can tell already it's a girl?" he asked astonished.

She shook her head, "no. But it is".

"How do you know?" he asked, laughing at her certainty.

"I just do. I always knew you were a boy."

"And I'm sure none of the scans ever gave that away" he said sarcastically, not believing her bold statement. They'd arrived at the car and were getting in.

"Never had any" she said, "You were my little secret. Didn't tell anyone about you until I went into labour. That kind of gave the game away".

Aaron knew his mum had been young when she'd had him, that his parents had married after he was born – he'd seen the embarrassing photos of his baby-self dressed up like a sailor to prove it. But he hadn't realised she'd kept her pregnancy hidden.

"What about my dad? Did you not tell him?"

She shook her head, looking at the photo he'd given back to her. She looked sad and he didn't know whether she was thinking about her past, her current situation or what the future was going to hold. He started the car and pulled out of the car park.

"When I carried you, I could barely look after myself, never mind a baby. At times I was really scared about what would happen, but I had that cocky confidence of youth, a stupid arrogance that stopped me ever asking for help. Now, I'm thirty four - older and wiser – and I couldn't be more petrified" she told him, still staring at the photo.

Aaron didn't really know what to say. He wanted to tell her there was nothing to be scared about, but the path she'd chosen for herself was a life in hiding, and he knew more than most how scary that could be at times. And he was only hiding from the law, not Cain and the wrath of the Dingles. He took one hand off the steering wheel briefly and gave her hand a squeeze. It was enough to show Chas that he understood and she took comfort from the fact she still had one person she loved in her life. Maybe her two children were the only people she needed?


	12. Chapter 12

22nd October 2012 – Marignane, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France

Aaron was sat relaxing in the lounge on a cold Monday afternoon. He was watching a French channel, trying to follow the conversations, proud of himself for being able to understand the odd sentence. The French lessons he'd been taking from his mum were really helping, he could speak and understand it a lot better than read or write, but it was a start. He looked over at the closed door to his mother's room, knowing she was inside trying to get some sleep. He was worried about her. She was always tired, still unable to eat anything but cold toast, plain boiled rice and jellybeans – not a good diet for someone nearly four months pregnant. She was putting a brave face on it, but he could tell she was just as worried as he was.

Aaron had news from home to say that both Gennie and Debbie had had their babies. Gennie had a little girl, which she named Sophie, and Debbie a boy, Liam. Cain told him he'd chosen the name Liam after Liam Gallagher, but he could hear Sarah in the background insisting she'd chosen it for Liam from One Direction. The best news was that there was enough cord blood from Liam for Sarah to have her transplant – soon she could be healthy once more.

Cain had asked again if he'd heard from Chas, which he denied, but he could tell his uncle was desperate for news of his sister and he felt guilty lying to him. When he'd got off the phone and related the news to his mum, she'd burst into tears. Aaron couldn't tell if this was because she missed them and wanted to meet her new niece and great nephew, or if it was guilt. Or maybe, he reflected, it was because she was worried that her own pregnancy may not turn out so well. It was probably a mixture of all three, she'd been torturing herself for weeks about what she was doing.

Aaron's phone started ringing and he saw it was his uncle again. He was bored of telling him the same thing every time he called. He put the TV on mute and answered anyway.

"Cain…if you're calling to ask if…" but he didn't get to finish the sentence. He was bombarded with an outpouring of hate-filled expletives. His mother was called every name under the sun as Cain shouted down the phone what he'd just learnt, demanding to know if Aaron knew and if he was protecting 'that skanky tramp' over there.

Aaron could hardly speak, he was so taken aback by the filth coming out of his uncle's mouth. But Chas had prepared him for this moment; they'd even rehearsed what he'd say, just in case. He acted completely shocked and appalled by his mum's actions, calling her a slag, reminding Cain what she'd done to Paddy and saying no wonder she'd run off. He told Cain he was glad she'd gone, at least she'd left all of their lives forever now.

But Cain wasn't happy with this, he swore to Aaron that he was going to find 'that scheming cow' and kill her. Aaron had no answer to this, but Cain assumed he was in shock and after making him promise to contact him if he heard from her, said he'd better go and call around all the Dingle clan he could think of to see if anyone had seen or heard from her and to make it clear she was to be ex-communicated and sent back to Emmerdale to face her punishment. A chill ran down Aaron's spine as he hung up – this couldn't get much worse, but how was he going to tell his mum?

He heard a noise behind him and as he turned he realised he wouldn't need to, she'd heard everything. She was white, her eyes as wide as plates as she took in what she'd just heard. Her knees began to buckle as the gravity of the situation hit her and Aaron had to run forward and catch her, guiding her over to the sofa.

"How?" was all she managed to say, her voice strangled.

"Cameron left you an answerphone message, Cain walked in and overheard. Figured it out. Cameron's done a runner, Cain's assuming to be with you."

"Debbie?"

"Mum, you don't want to hear this…"

"Please Aaron, tell me"

"She's in bits, obviously. Everybody's angry, devastated. You've been…"

"Banished, yeah, I guessed that" she was strangely calm now, "I need to go"

"What? No, you need to stay here" Aaron protested, "even more so now they know"

Chas shook her head, "Cain's not stupid, he'll try everywhere, including here. If he doesn't come himself, he'll send someone he knows. I'm not having you dragged into this" she said firmly, looking straight at him.

"Where are you gonna go?" Aaron asked, hating the idea of her being on her own.

"I have an idea, it's been circling my brain for a few weeks now. Get your laptop" she said as she stood and walked to her room. Aaron dug his laptop out from under some clothes and turned it on. Chas returned from her room with her mobile phone. She turned it on and put it on speaker, then dialled her answerphone.

"Mum, you don't have to do this…" Aaron told her, not wanting her to put herself through listening to the kind of bile he'd just heard from Cain.

"It's the least I deserve" she told him bravely. The first couple of messages were from days ago, one from Gennie telling her about Sophie, and one from Cain asking her for the five hundredth time to get in contact. When Cameron's voice came on, she couldn't help a tear escaping as she listened.

"Chas…it's me…I've tried and tried to get on with things and not think about you, but it's killing me not knowing where you are. Debbie's had the baby, Sarah's going to be okay and I should be happy. But all I can think about is you and if you're okay, wherever you are. I still love you Chas, so much and if you tell me where you are, maybe…" the call was cut short, presumably where Cameron realised Cain was stood there.

"Idiot" Aaron said. He couldn't believe everything had kicked off because Cameron was unable to make a phone call in secret.

The next message made both Chas and Aaron flinch.

"You little bitch. You're dead when I find you Chas, and don't think I won't. I always knew you were a tart, but doing that to Debbie, when she's pregnant….you're dead"

The next two were very similar messages from both Charity and Debbie. And another from Cain. Then another from Cameron telling her he'd left Emmerdale, that they can be together now. Then another one from Debbie, this time she was in tears, sobbing, calling her a back-stabbing bitch and asking what she'd done to deserve it. Chas sat and took every hit, listened to each message, face blank apart from the odd flinch. Cain and Charity both left a few more messages on a similar note: promising her they would find her and kill her. When the last message had finished, Chas turned her phone off, took out the sim card and snapped it in half.

She took the laptop from Aaron and went to a flight website, booking a one-way ticket to Kerry for the following evening.

"Why there?" Aaron asked as he watched.

"There's a place nearby that my dad used to go to whenever he was banished, and that was quite often" she told him, "he'd go there because there were no Dingles living anywhere near and because no one knew where he'd gone"

"How come he told you then?" Aaron asked.

"He was banished once and something happened while he was away. When he got back, he felt guilty and told me where he went so that if I ever needed him, I'd know where to look. He made me swear never to tell another living person where it was. And now I'm going to ask you to do the same"

Aaron nodded and she brought up a map online and pointed to a small point almost at the very edge of Ireland. He looked closely and read the place name. "Dingle?" he laughed.

Chas smiled, "he was quite witty in his own way. He said he thought the irony of there being no Dingles in Dingle was too perfect to ignore. He used to go to a little village called Lough, where there wasn't much except a pub, a shop, the sea and the mountains. I've never been, but it sounds beautiful. As good a place as any".

"This is crazy Mum, what will you do when you're there?"

"Who knows? Maybe the pub needs staff, could be a barmaid again. I was always good at that. Diane's still putting money into my account for now. Don't know how long that will last once it's got out what I've done." Chas looked at her son, saw he was worried, "hey, listen, I have been in worse situations than this before and got through them. I might be ex-communicated but I'm still a Dingle and we're made of tough stuff" she tried to sound strong, but she wasn't fooling either of them.

"Well you're not going before you've seen a doctor again, you're still not right and you can ask them to refer you to a doctor nearby. I'll book you in for tomorrow morning" he told her as he pulled his own mobile out and went onto the balcony to make the call.

Chas sat back on the sofa and let everything sink in. She absentmindedly stroked her bump, it was starting to get big enough to be noticeable, and she had started to feel movements earlier that day. It was a comfort to know she was never on her own, her daughter always with her, but it also terrified her to think she was yet again going to be going through a pregnancy completely alone.

Aaron finished on the phone and looked through the sliding doors into the lounge at his mum, stroking her bump, staring off into space, unable to hide the worry from her face. He was tempted to offer to go with her, to pack in his job and his life and be there for her. But he knew she'd never let him, and in his heart he wanted to see where his new relationship with Carl would lead him. He went back into the apartment and made them both tea and toast and they sat watching rubbish French TV together one last time. Chas fell asleep on his shoulder after half an hour and he took in the moment, trying to memorise the smell of her hair, the feel of her head resting against him, the sight of her face, relaxed in sleep. He didn't know when he'd next see her in the flesh and he'd enjoyed having her stay with him. He'd never admit it to her, but he was going to miss her so much.


	13. Chapter 13

19:00 27th February 2013 Dingle District Hospital, Dingle Peninsula, County Kerry, Ireland

An hour later, Cain was sat holding his niece who was fast asleep, when a doctor came over to talk to him.

"Ms Thomas had a nasty bang to the head" he started, and it took a minute for Cain to realise he was talking about Chas. "We've put thirteen stitches in her head and given her a scan. There's no bleeding or swelling on the brain, so we're happy to let her come up here under close observation. The placenta is now delivered and although her heart rate's still very high, often with pre-eclampsia this doesn't settle down for a while. We've given her some blood as her white count was very low and put her on an IV to rehydrate her. She's a bit groggy, but fully conscious now, and waiting to see her daughter" the doctor smiled at him as he led the way towards the room. Cain was nervous as he walked, not knowing how much Chas was going to remember, how she would react to seeing him carrying her baby.

Chas was sat up in bed, linked up to a couple of monitors and a drip. Her wide brown eyes were locked desperately onto the door as she waited for proof that her daughter was safe and well. The doctors had told her several times that everything was fine, but she couldn't believe them, not until she had her daughter in her arms once more. She remembered every second of the birth and the nurses had told her that her brother had come in the ambulance with her, had sat with the baby as he waited for news. She knew they were offering this as a comfort, but in reality it sent shivers through her body.

Her head was still banging, she was exhausted and her whole body ached, but none of that mattered. She was still alive, she was a mother again, and if she could just hold her…

Cain entered the room and nodded to his sister, hiding his relief at seeing her alive and well behind his usual cold exterior. She nodded back to him, not giving anything away either. But when he placed the little creature in her arms, her face lit up, she pushed back the blanket to have a good look at her daughter. She counted her ten tiny fingers and ten tiny toes, stroked her black hair, kissed her frowny brow and breathed in her delightful smell. Tears of relief fell down her cheeks. She'd done it, against all odds, she'd done it on her own and she couldn't have been more proud.

Cain watched in silence, hardly daring to breathe. He took a good look at his sister, trying to see how she'd changed since he'd last seen her. She hadn't put much weight on to say she'd been pregnant, but then she hadn't last time either. He saw that Chas's head had been bandaged quite heavily and felt guilty that he'd caused her such an injury. He was getting a strange sense of déjà vu standing there, feeling useless and guilty, not knowing what to say.

Chas finally tore her eyes away from her daughter and looked up at Cain. She was too tired to glare, so she settled for a scowl.

"It's like going back in time" he said to her quietly, "you lying all beaten and bruised on a hospital bed after giving birth to a secret baby".

"Yeah" Chas agreed, "but last time you hadn't been the one that had beaten me. I hadn't been hiding it from you. Funny how things change, eh" she said sarcastically.

Cain looked around to check nobody had heard her say he'd beaten her. "Ssh" he warned her, "someone'll hear".

"Might be a good idea, getting you locked up for assault" she said half-heartedly. They both knew she'd never do that.

"How is it? Your head I mean?"

"Banging"

"For what it's worth, I never meant to do that. You were in the way, I told you to get out of the way"

"Yeah, I was a bit busy passing out at the time Cain, don't know if you remember?"

He nodded and sank into a chair, pushing his hands through his hair, trying to figure out what to say. "What you calling her?" was the best he could come up with.

Chas's eyes sparked with rebellion as she told him, daring him to argue, "Evie. Evie Rose Thomas".

Cain's mouth twitched as he heard the name, "she's not a Thomas though is she?" he ground out, "she's a Dingle. She's a Murray. Not a Thomas, unless you were shagging around with the vicar as well?"

"Well, it is my speciality" Chas challenged, knowing full well that was what he was implying. And Cain was right back in the past again, seeing his brainbox sister living up to a reputation gained from one stupid mistake, branded a tart at school because she'd had a baby and giving up fighting it. People had always written her off as a slapper and underestimated her because of it, and she'd very often used this to her advantage. But this time, he couldn't understand her motives. She'd destroyed her family, broken Debbie's heart, for some idiot with a clapped out old truck.

Evie started fussing, breaking the tension and causing Chas to lose interest in her brother. She jigged the baby up and down a bit and spoke softly to her.

"She'll need feeding" Chas said.

Cain stood and nodded, leaving the room to give her some privacy, "be back in twenty" he said, and she couldn't figure out whether it was a promise or a threat. She fed and burped Evie with no problems and then placed her gently in the cot next to her bed. She knew what Cain meant about going back in time, it was very surreal being in such similar circumstances to twenty years ago. And yet again she was having to pretend she wasn't scared witless. She wondered what had happened to Aaron, the last she'd heard was an answerphone message left hours ago saying he was on his way. Part of her hoped he'd not managed to find a flight, that he was stuck in France, so Cain didn't run into him and find out he'd been lying to him. But a bigger part of her desperately wanted to see her son, the only person who'd been there with her from the beginning. They'd become so close over the last few months, calling and skypeing each other, him practising his French and checking on her wellbeing, her asking for news from home and gossip about him and boyfriend Carl. When she came round in the resuscitation room, she'd asked the nurse to call him, to tell him everything was fine, not to come. But she wasn't sure if the message had been left too late.

Cain returned with a coffee for him and a hot chocolate for her. She refused it, he rolled his eyes at her stubbornness and put it on her bedside table before sitting down. They sat in silence for a minute or so, then Cain asked, "why here?"

"S'where Dad used to go. I didn't think anyone knew. How d'you find me?" she asked.

"Nicked your post from Diane's. Found a credit card bill."

Chas laughed at the simple way she'd been caught, after months of carefully covering her tracks "I asked her to burn everything".

"Probably was gonna, I swiped them when she was distracted with Liam" he said.

Chas's eyebrows shot up as she heard mention of her great nephew. "How's he doing?" she asked tentatively.

Cain shook his head angrily, "you don't get to ask about them. Even though I know you know everything. Who's been telling you, eh? Who's been keeping you updated with all the news? Is it Diane?"

Chas shook her head.

"Gennie?"

Another shake, "no. But I wouldn't tell you if it was. They don't need grief from you. What are you gonna do now, eh? Still gonna take me back to Yorkshire to face my punishment? What was it you said, you'll drag me back by the hair if you have to?"

Cain's temper flashed at her mocking tone, "it wouldn't be any less than you deserve. You don't know what you've done, do you? You selfish bitch…"

Chas started to feel strange, her face twitching uncontrollably "Cain…" she interrupted but he wouldn't let her speak.

"No, don't Cain me, you've completely wrecked Debbie's life…"

But Cain stopped speaking as Chas's body suddenly went completely rigid, like someone had flash frozen her. Her monitors started to go crazy, all beeping and chiming at once. He watched in horror as Chas now started to convulse, shaking so violently the bed was rocking. Her arm went flying out to the side and knocked the cup of hot chocolate against the window. Blood appeared at the corner of her mouth where she had bitten her tongue, and her whole face started to turn blue.

Cain pressed the buzzer by her bed and ran to the door to shout for help. Two nurses and a doctor were already running in his direction. "How long's she been seizing?" the doctor asked him when he got in the room and checked all of the monitors. Another nurse came and rolled Evie's crib out of the room, to give them space to work.

"About half a minute I think. What's going on?" Cain asked, not understanding what had happened.

The doctor ignored Cain and got on with telling the nurses what to do "looks like eclamptogenic toxaemia. Push ten of hydralazine and six of magnesium sulphate" the nurse nodded and injected something into the cannula in Chas's arm. Chas stopped moving but didn't wake up. The doctor carried on talking, all of the medical staff buzzed around Cain as if he wasn't there, "she's cyanotic, put her on full oxygen and get an ECG, haematocrit, liver function and platelet count please" he left the nurses to it and guided Cain out into the corridor by his elbow.

Cain stood back and leaned against a wall, anxiety taking over "What's wrong with her? She was blue. Why was she blue? Why isn't she waking up?"

"She wasn't breathing whilst she was fitting, but we've put her on oxygen, so she'll pink up again soon" the doctor replied, "it looks like she's developed eclampsia. I'm not going to lie to you, it's a very serious condition that needs monitoring closely. She's fallen into a coma, which is often the case. Now we need to test her system functions and put her on five minute observations"

"When will she wake up?" Cain asked.

"It varies patient to patient. But once we've performed all the necessary tests, you're welcome to go and sit with her. She may well be able to hear you talking, so be encouraging and reassure her as much as you can."

"What about Evie?" Cain asked, making the doctor frown, "the baby? Where's she been taken?"

"We've taken her to the maternity den. It's a little room where there's a couple of dedicated midwives to attend babies when their mothers can't. She'll be well looked after there, but if you want to visit or take her out and bring her in to sit with her mum for a bit, that won't be a problem. I'll ask for her name to be noted, Evie was it?"

Cain nodded, "Evie Rose Thomas".

"Beautiful. Now if you'll excuse me…take a seat and someone will come and get you when we're finished."

Cain sat down on the plastic bench and let his head fall into his hands. He wished he'd never stepped foot in this blasted country. How had it come to this? Was this his fault? He'd been telling anyone and everyone for the last few months that he was going to kill Chas when he found her. Now he was terrified he'd done just that.


	14. Chapter 14

23rd October 2012 – 09:00 Clinique de Marignane, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France

Aaron had been waiting outside the room for ten minutes when the door opened and the doctor called "Aaron Thomas?"

He stood and walked over, wondering why he'd been called.

"Your mum thought you might like to see this" the doctor smiled and led him into the room.

Aaron followed and saw his mum laid down on a bed with her stomach showing. The doctor sat next to her and put a gel on her stomach. Aaron had seen enough TV to know what was happening, so he moved to his mum's side so that he could see the screen, excited to see his little brother or sister. When the image came up, he couldn't believe how different it was to the grainy photo his mum had shown him a few weeks ago. He could see a proper baby now, with a head, spine and legs.

Chas was happy to see the image of her little girl kicking around happily in her little cocoon, but she caught the doctor frowning slightly and was on her guard straight away. "What's wrong?" she asked, making Aaron tear his eyes away from the screen and look at the doctor as well.

"Nothing to worry about, the baby's a bit smaller than normal, but with your morning sickness I'm not too surprised" the doctor told her calmly, smiling reassuringly, "I can tell the sex, would you like to know?"

"It's a girl isn't it?" Chas asked, already sure of herself. Aaron rolled his eyes until the doctor nodded in confirmation and Chas smirked at him. "Told you" she said, making him roll his eyes again and then look back at the image. A little sister.

Aaron stayed in the room whilst the doctor took Chas's blood pressure. Another frown. "Your blood pressure has gone up quite a bit since last time, we'll need to keep an eye on that" she said.

"Actually, I'm going away tomorrow" Chas told her, "would you be able to refer me to a clinic in Ireland? I'm not registered over there".

"I wouldn't recommend flying too far with your blood pressure high. If you really need to go, I'll certainly send all your notes to your nearest clinic, but once you're there I'd say no more flights until after the birth, and I want you to get checked out the day after you land to make sure everything's okay".

This all sounded very serious to Aaron. "What does it mean, having high blood pressure?" he asked.

"Well, if your mum develops sustained high blood pressure in pregnancy, it's called gestational hypertension and it can be a sign of other conditions, like pre-eclampsia, which can be quite serious if untreated.

"Is this related to the gravidadumthingywotsit?" he asked.

"It could be, it might just be that the stress of constantly feeling ill is increasing her blood pressure a bit. I'm going to suggest the clinic in Ireland do some extra tests just to find out exactly what's going on. Is that okay?" she asked Chas, who was very quiet.

Chas nodded. She wanted to get out of there before anything else went wrong. The doctor wrote her another prescription for antihistamines and vitamins and found the nearest clinic to Lough, a specialist clinic at Dingle District Hospital. She told her how to reduce her risk of blood clots on her flight and then wished her well. Chas thanked her profusely and left with another scan photo.

Later that day, she pressed the same photo into Aaron's hands as he dropped her off at the airport.

"Here, you have this. But don't leave it out, you need to make sure there's no trace of me left in your flat". She was trying desperately not to cry, but her eyes were wet and her voice wavered as she spoke, "thanks Son, for everything. I'm so proud of you, what you've become, and I love you so much" she told him as she gave him a huge hug.

Aaron wasn't faring too well either, tears already falling, "I love you too. And I'm proud of you. Please look after yourself, try and find something other than jellybeans to eat, and let me know you're safe when you can".

They hugged again and she left Aaron stood staring at the scan photo, wondering when he'd see his mum again.


	15. Chapter 15

19:30 27th February 2013 Dingle District Hospital, Dingle Peninsula, County Kerry, Ireland

Cain was still sat in the same position in the corridor when he heard a familiar voice asking for information at the reception desk. He stood up and looked around to see his nephew waiting anxiously for news of his mother.

Aaron looked over and saw Cain glaring at him, but he was too angry to be scared by his uncle, he walked straight over and squared up to him, catching the attention of one of the nurses.

"I might've known it'd be you. Like mother like son, eh" Cain spat, "can't trust either of you".

But Aaron was in no mood for guilt trips, "I've just been to my mother's house. There's broken doors, blood everywhere, the place looks like something out of CSI. And you wonder why I never told you where she was? I suppose I should be grateful you didn't just kill her and leave! What the hell happened?"

"If I'd have known…" Cain started, but broke eye contact with Aaron, unable to maintain the anger in the face of his actions that day. He motioned for Aaron to follow him somewhere more private.

But Aaron refused to go "No. I want to know what's going on. Where's Mum? I want to see her"

"You can't at the moment. Doctors are working on her"

Aaron didn't believe him "the nurse on the phone said she was okay. Why would they still be working on her?"

"Just come with me and I'll explain" Cain begged him.

Aaron shook his head, "no. I'm going nowhere until I've seen her. And I'm especially not going anywhere with you!"

"She's in a coma" Cain growled at his nephew, trying not to cause even more of a scene.

Aaron stopped in his tracks, not expecting him to say that, "What? How?"

Cain lowered his voice again, leading Aaron to the plastic bench. This time he followed, wanting to know what happened. "Something called eclampsia?" Cain said. Aaron nodded his understanding. Since his mum had told him months ago that the doctor had diagnosed her with pre-eclampsia, he'd read everything he could find about it online. Chas had played it down, said developing eclampsia was very rare, nothing to worry about, but he'd heard the fear in her voice. And now the fear had become a reality.

"So have they delivered the baby?" Aaron asked. All he'd learnt from the answerphone message left for him was that she was at the hospital, that she was fine and that he wasn't to come over. As if that would have stopped him.

Cain nodded, but Aaron could see he wasn't saying something.

"Is that why they had to deliver early? Because of the eclampsia? Where is she? Is she okay?" Aaron asked more questions, trying to get everything out of his uncle.

Cain just looked at him, refusing to speak. "Tell me Cain, I want to know the truth!" Aaron was getting angry again.

"The truth?" Cain scoffed, "what do you know about the truth? I've been ringing you for months, and not once have you mentioned you knew where she was. How long have you known?"

Aaron this time was the one who refused to answer.

"Right, I'll tell you what," said Cain, "let's play a game. You tell me something and I'll tell you something in return. So…how long have you known?"

"Since the beginning" Aaron admitted, not particularly proud of himself, "she came to mine when she first left the village".

Cain was more hurt by this than he'd expected to be.

"Now tell me what happened" Aaron said.

"Fine. She was at home when she gave birth. On her own, with no help from anyone. Because she's a stubborn cow and wouldn't let me near her. Then she collapsed, but that was from her head injury…"

"Head injury?"

"She'd locked herself in the bathroom when I got to the house and then passed out. I had to break the door down, but she was in the way and it opened onto her head. That's where all the blood came from".

"Why wasn't she at the hospital if she'd gone into labour?" Aaron asked, "she wasn't due for another month. With her condition, she could have died giving birth at home".

Cain's face twitched as he heard this. He'd seen how desperate Chas was at the house, heard how worried she was at the idea of giving birth at home, but she'd never said why. He shrugged, "I honestly don't know why she didn't go to hospital. She was right at the end when I…"

"When you what? Broke the door down? Threatened her? Why had she locked herself in the bathroom, eh? Because she was scared of you!" Aaron was guessing a bit here, but he could see in Cain's eyes that he was close to the truth of what happened.

"Chas isn't scared of anything" Cain scoffed.

"You really have no idea whatsoever do you?" Aaron said to his uncle, "she was petrified of you finding her. I've never seen her work herself into such a state as when she first came to mine. She made herself ill with worry, nearly lost the baby after moving here because she was so stressed. And now she's been forced to give birth on her own in the middle of nowhere because yet again you stride in with your size nines and ruin things for her!"

Cain had no answer to this, he was taken aback by the ferocity of Aaron's speech. He started to feel guilty about chasing after his sister for so long. But then he remembered why he'd done it. His daughter, his granddaughter, his new grandson. "Shame Chas never thought about her family when she was doing that idiot. Debbie could have lost the baby from the stress, never thought about that did she? And if Debbie had lost the baby, that'd have meant Sarah would have died to. Why should I feel guilty about endangering a baby I didn't even know existed when she put both my grandchildren's lives at risk?"

"You're wrong, Cain" Aaron returned, "she always thought about what she was doing to Debbie. She thought she was protecting her by keeping it secret, for exactly those reasons. She even made Cameron agree to stay with Debbie until Sarah was better, because she knew how much Debbie needed Cameron. When Debbie ended up in hospital, she stopped it for good. She was stupid, and an idiot for falling for Cameron. But everything she's done, it's been because she loved them both – Cameron and Debbie. Whereas you…everything you've done is from hate."

A nurse came over before they could continue the conversation. Both men stood up as she approached. "She's ready for visitors now" she told Cain, "she's still unconscious, we're running her system function tests at the moment and we'll let you know as soon as they're back.

"Thank you" Cain replied politely. The nurse left and Cain motioned for Aaron to follow. He complied straight away this time, desperate to see his mother.

When they got into the room, Aaron was surprised by the amount of machinery Chas was hooked up to. She was on a ventilator, there was a heart monitor, blood pressure monitor, three different drips, and they were just the things Aaron could identify. He saw that her head was heavily bandaged and her lips were bruised. He felt winded. He sat down on a plastic chair next to her bed and took her hand in his. It was cold.

Cain hung back at the door, just as taken aback by all of the equipment as Aaron was. He couldn't understand how she'd been talking one minute and now she was relying on a machine to help her breathe. And they'd been arguing. He hoped that wasn't to be the last conversation they ever had.

"I'll be right back" Cain told Aaron and left without a response.

Aaron rubbed his mum's hand, trying to make it warm again. He saw that her skinny arm was covered in bruises, knowing that it was a symptom of her pre-eclampsia, he didn't panic. She'd skyped him in tears a few months back, showing him a patchwork of bruises that crept up her arms and across her chest. Once he'd ascertained from her that it wasn't something to be worried about medically, he'd told her off for being vain and her tears had turned into laughter. She'd thanked him for the straight-talk, saying she missed having people around her that were always completely honest with her. He knew she meant her family; Cain, Charity, Debbie – none of them would have let her wallow – and so neither did he.

He heard a noise behind him and turned to see Cain holding a baby in his arms. Cain brought the bundle over to his nephew and handed the little girl over, saying "meet your little sister".

"Is she allowed in here?" Aaron said, panicking.

"Yeah, they said it was okay before. Said it might help for Chas to hear her".

"She's tiny. Should she not be in an incubator or summat?" Aaron frowned.

"Will you chill out," Cain replied, "she's been properly checked, she's absolutely fine. Just a bit small".

Aaron looked properly at his sister. Cain wasn't lying, she was tiny, but beautiful. She had her mother's black hair and button nose, but when she opened her eyes, he saw they were blue - striking bright blue, just like Cameron's. But also, just like his.

"Looks just like you when you were born" Cain offered, "except half the size".

"You were there?" Aaron asked, surprised. His mother had told him she'd not told anyone about being pregnant with him.

Cain nodded, "I got there not long after she'd given birth. I was the first to see you both".

The baby started fussing, so Aaron shushed her, "ssh…baby…I don't even know your name.."

"Evie…Evie Rose Thomas" Cain told him.

"Evie? That was my nana's name" Aaron pointed out.

"Yeah, I know"

"Mum hates my dad's family. Why would she name her daughter after my dad's mum?"

"Do you remember your Nana Evie?" Cain asked.

"Vaguely. I was four when she died" he replied.

"She wasn't like the rest of your dad's lot. She was…special" he told his nephew.

"You knew her?" Aaron asked confused.

Cain nodded, "met her the day you were born. If it wasn't for Evie, you and your mum would probably have ended up living a completely different life".

"That would have been terrible" Aaron scoffed.

"Yeah, it would" Cain stressed, "you know, you wanted for nothing when you were little, your dad gave you everything you asked for. Your mam hated it."

"Only cos she never bothered to get us owt" Aaron sulked.

"She did. It was just tiny compared to the stuff your dad piled on you. She couldn't compete. But that wasn't why she hated it. It was because he was spoiling you. You were a right little brat. And that's not what she wanted for you."

"She should've stuck around then."

"Have you not learnt yet that life isn't as simple as that?"

"Thought you were telling me about my nana?"

"Yeah, I am. She was funny, right dry sense of humour. Chas always said she saved you both."

"From what?"

"Going into care I suppose. Living life in the system".

Aaron was gobsmacked by this. How would he have ever ended up in care? Cain sat down next to him and told him the story of when Aaron was born and how Cain came to meet Evie Livesy.


	16. Chapter 16

January 5th 1992 – Parkwick Road, Hotten, Yorkshire, UK

Gordon Livesy was taking the rubbish out when he saw Cain sat on his wall waiting for him. He'd expected this moment to come at some point, but he thought Dingle was at a Young Offenders' Institute. His heart quickened its beating as the other teenager approached him slowly.

"Cain, I thought…"

"No you didn't" Cain interrupted as he got so close to him he could feel his breath on his face when he spoke, "you didn't think at all did you, going with a thirteen year old, _my _sister?"

"I never…" he was going to deny it, but he never got the chance because Cain grabbed him by the throat and pushed him against the wall.

"You'd better not be about to call my sister a liar, because I swear…"

This time it was Cain who wasn't able to finish his sentence as both boys' ears were grabbed from behind and they were dragged into the house.

January 5th 1992 – Hotten General Hospital, Yorkshire, UK

Cain watched Chas like a hawk through the window as she spoke with the older woman. Chas kept glancing at him, checking he was still there, that he'd not left her alone again. The woman was perched on the end of her bed, talking very seriously to her, Chas scowling as she listened. She asked a few questions, to which Chas nodded. He wished he knew what they were saying to each other, but he'd been warned to stay out of the room.

He wasn't sure quite what had happened. He'd gone to Parkwick Road to beat the crap out of Gordon Livesy and ended up being scolded by Evie Livesy, his more than formidable mother, who had demanded to know exactly what was going on. And Cain found himself telling her everything he knew, which wasn't much, as she made him a cup of tea. Gordon had made himself scarce and Cain had wanted to go after him, but Evie told him it sounded to her like they had far more important things to do at the hospital.

So here he was, watching as Evie brushed the hair out of Chas's eyes, held Chas's face up to the light, hand under her chin, inspecting her injuries. Simple things that mothers seemed to do instinctively with their kids, but that neither he nor his sister had ever experienced. Chas's scowl started to slip, her chin started to wobble, and she completely crumbled into tears. Evie held the girl in her arms, rubbing circles on her back, and speaking words of comfort in her ear. Cain could no longer just stand outside and watch, he opened the door and coughed to make his presence known. Evie didn't let go of Chas, just turned her head and said, "Be a love and get us a coffee. Milk two sugars, purse is in my bag"

Cain hesitated, "Is she alright?" he asked. He'd never seen Chas cry before, not since she was a baby, and certainly not like that.

"She's fine love. Hormones" Evie said, and Cain backed out of the room straight away. "Works every time" she told Chas softly.

Chas pulled away and wiped her eyes, embarrassed that she'd broken down on a complete stranger, annoyed at herself for being so weak. But there was something about this woman that made her feel she could be a bit more open with her feelings.

Evie let the girl compose herself and went to take a proper look at her grandson. She'd been shocked and appalled by the day's events - learning her teenager had fathered a child was bad enough, but with a thirteen year old girl, she was ashamed to call him her son at that moment. And meeting the poor thing, all skinny and small and covered in bruises with no one but that hoodlum of a brother to look out for her, her heart ached for the child. She picked Aaron up out of his cot and cradled him gently. He was a beautiful, bonny lad and he was her flesh and blood. She knew she needed to sort this mess out for his sake if no one else's.

She brought him round and sat back on the edge of the bed. She noticed Chas was eyeing him warily, like she was scared of him. She saw that she was still in shock from the birth and just needed a bit of encouragement, a bit of teaching. First though, she needed someone to trust.

It was an hour later when the two finally finished their talk and Cain was allowed to speak to Chas again. Evie gave Aaron one last hug and kiss and put him back in his cot, then surprised Chas by giving her a kiss on the cheek, squeezing her hand and saying "you're gonna be fine Chastity, you're a capable young lady, and we'll do this together, I promise".

Chas smiled at her, ignoring Cain's questioning look until Evie had left the room and the door was closed.

"What was that about?" Cain asked, flopping down into the seat he'd occupied before.

"That was Evie" Chas replied, yawning. She was tired before and the last hour had zapped the last of her energy.

"Yes I'm well aware of who she is, my ear still hurts from where she nearly pulled it off my head"

Chas scowled, "you shouldn't have got caught then. I think that was the last thing I said to you, wasn't it?"

Cain scowled back, "I never meant to".

"No, you never do, do you."

"So what did she want?"

"She wants Aaron."

"Eh?"

"And me. To stay with her."

"I hope you told her where to stick it" Cain scoffed.

"Actually, I said yes" Chas replied.

"What did you say that for? You can't seriously want to…"

"What? Live in a clean house that has electricity and heating all the time? Yeah, sounds good to me"

"But you don't know her. And you'll be living with that idiot, Livesy. What are you going to do, marry him?"

"Don't be stupid. I'm thirteen."

"I'm stupid? You're being ridiculous. This is against Dingle code, this is."

"No Cain, the alternative – going into care, letting Aaron be taken into care, that's against the code. I'm doing what's right, I'm looking after family. This is what's best for Aaron, to live with his grandparents, his mum and dad, Evie showed me that".

"She's brainwashed you. I'm not gonna let you do this. I'm gonna ring Auntie Colleen, tell her what's happened and she'll let you stay with them."

"They've got enough mouths to feed. Everyone has. Evie's husband's loaded, they can look after us, it's fine. And she said she can look after Aaron while I go to school, so that's good".

"What about Shadrach?" Cain was clutching at straws now, he didn't like the idea of his sister going to live with strangers, but he couldn't argue with her, she was too smart.

"What about him? When he turns up, I'll tell him he's a granddad and he'll probably go on a bender and bog off again. Cain, you're looking at this the wrong way. I'm sorted now, I've found a family that's stupid enough to take me in and pay for me to live with them in a posh house. Why argue with that?"

Cain was mostly appeased by this. He saw that she was falling asleep so he left her to get some rest. "Fine, have it your way" he said, "one less thing for me to worry about. See you tomorrow" and then he left.

Once he'd gone, Chas sagged into the bed in exhaustion. She'd tried to make Cain think she was confident about her decision, but really, she was completely petrified about what she'd signed up for. Evie had been as affable as her son, full of grand ideas and promises of safety. But Chas knew she couldn't trust anyone, as much as she'd love to believe that Evie was as nice as she seemed. She'd never met her husband, and how would it work out living in the same house as Gordon?

Evie had talked sense, planned it all out, saying she'd make sure she'd be able to finish her education, that she could secure a good future for both Chas and Aaron, keep them safe and together. How could Chas refuse that kind of offer, an assurance that her son would be looked after like she'd never been? And if she had to make some sacrifices, so be it. She'd put up with Gordon if it meant her baby was safe and happy.

She sat up and took Aaron out of his crib, the first time she'd done so since she'd given birth to him. He started to fuss, so she stroked his head and shushed him. The soft down of his hair made her smile. She still couldn't believe she'd made this perfect being, with his little hands and smooth skin and bright blue eyes. She kissed him on the cheek and whispered to him, "we're safe for now, you and me. Nothing's going to split us up. Nothing"


	17. Chapter 17

20:00 27th February 2013 Dingle District Hospital, Dingle Peninsula, County Kerry, Ireland

"She made me go round for my tea once a month. She was a force to be reckoned with was your nana".

Aaron smiled. His father had never spoken much about his mother, neither had his granddad. Now he knew why – it was her that brought his mother to live in the house with them. He wondered why his mum had agreed to live with people she barely knew. He could vaguely remember his nana, she had a big smile and was always giving him chocolate buttons.

"She wasn't perfect. Not by a long stretch" Cain continued talking, "she could be a bit of a bully. But one of them clever ones, that made you think you wanted to do what they wanted. She talked your mum and dad into getting married, even though they didn't even like each other much, never mind love each other. Recipe for disaster that, sixteen year old marrying a nineteen year old. Great party though – Shadrach and Zak both got so drunk they fell into the fountain at the front of the hotel."

"Is there a point to this?" Aaron asked, wondering where Cain's ramblings were taking them. His sister was fast asleep in his arms and it felt so comfortable. Chas was still unmoving on the bed, monitors beeping regularly, the ventilator hissing as it pumped air in and out of her lungs.

"Not really, just telling you why Evie was important to your mum. She looked after you while Chas went to school, got her exams, all that stuff that me and you never bothered with, it was so important to your mam. She were a proper little geek when she was younger. It wasn't until after your nana died that everything went wrong."

"How d'you mean?"

"Well, your granddad was a nasty piece of work. Without Evie around to bully him into keeping quiet about you and your mum, he'd constantly have a go at Chas, make comments about her being a bad mother, and constantly push her buttons. And you know your mum, she'd lose her temper and have a go back, then Gordon'd stick his neb in and everything would kick off. Chas hated it. Said if she wanted to live in a warzone, she might as well move back in with Shadrach. Your dad told her if she left with you, neither of you would get a penny, but if she left you with him, he'd make sure you were looked after. She was seventeen, she had no choice."

"Why are you telling me this?" Aaron asked, "you're supposed to hate her, why are you trying to convince me she left me with my dad for the right reasons?"

"Dunno" Cain replied, rubbing his face tiredly. He couldn't control his emotions anymore, one minute he was seething with anger, the next he was worried sick his sister was never going to wake up.

Aaron could see Cain was struggling. He'd never seen him so shaky before.

"Why have you done this?" he asked his uncle.

"Done what?" Cain replied.

"Chased her, harassed her, obsessed over finding her. You could have just written her off when you found out about the affair – out of sight, out of mind. She'd pretty much banished herself. But you had to hunt her down. Why?"

Cain looked up at Aaron, "couldn't let her get away with it" he said bluntly.

Aaron shook his head, "nah, try again".

Cain frowned, "get lost".

Aaron stood up with Evie, "tell you what. Why don't you tell my mam? Only time you'll ever get to say what you want to her without her answering back. I'm going to take Evie back to wherever you got her from".

Cain was left alone to sulk as Aaron went to find a nurse.

He edged closer to Chas, looked at the hand Aaron had been holding, the bruised arms, the tubes and wires attached to her. He remembered waking up in hospital after his attack, how scared he was, how strange everything seemed. And she'd been there, with Aaron, and Debbie and Cameron. And they'd all supported him, taken his side against Charity, even though he'd been a nightmare to live with those previous months. They'd believed him when he'd lied to them about it being Jai that had attacked him. Chas even let rip at Charity when she'd admitted she'd left Cain for dead at the side of the road, Aaron had to drag her off her.

And then when he'd been forced to back down and admit he'd lied about Jai, Chas had just accepted it, no mithering about who it really was like with Aaron and Debbie, she'd just shrugged her shoulders and apologised to Jai and got on with organising Charity's wedding. Because she knew him inside out. She knew if she pushed him to talk he'd tell her to bog off. She knew that if he wanted to tell her, he would have told her. She knew that he was lying about men from Spain getting him, but she let it lie, happy for the drama to be over.

A nurse came in and took some readings, wrote things in a chart and adjusted some of the machines.

"She okay?" Cain asked, "she's still a bit blue. The doctor said that would stop"

The nurse smiled warmly, "she's stable" she told him, a lighter lilt to her accent than the other medical staff, "I've increased her oxygen a tad and I'll keep an eye on her. Sure, she'll probably like it if you had a talk to her. Hold her hand, it'll make her feel better".

She left and Cain looked at Chas. He doubted he could make her feel better at the moment.

He took her hand anyway. It was like ice. He saw the little white scar on her knuckle where she'd split it on Jarrod Finnegan's chin over twenty years ago. He traced the darker scar that ran down her palm and around her wrist from when she'd put it through a window when she was ten. She usually covered it with her watch. He let his fingers trace hers, seeing that two of them were still much smaller than the rest. He wondered if she still sucked them in her sleep?

"I don't know what to say" he said softly by her ear, "there's nothing I can say to make this right. I'm still so angry with you, I don't get how you could betray us like that. Anyone else, I could believe it, but you…that's what makes it hurt the most. You were the only one I thought I could trust, and you do something like this to my daughter? To a girl you've pretty much treated as your own daughter? When Sarah was dying and she needed all of us.

"I get it now, why you ran. I knew you were never a coward. I see you had your reasons for running, you were protecting your kid, like I was doing with mine. If you only knew how much this has broken Debbie, how haunted she is by the knowledge of what you've done to her, you'd know why I couldn't let this lie. She should be enjoying time with her new son, celebrating the fact Sarah's on the mend, but all she does is mope around the place, crying all the time.

"I don't think I'm really encouraging you to wake up am I?" he said with a small laugh, "I needed to say all that, and I feel better that I have, even if you probably can't hear me. And while I'm at it, I'll admit I've missed you. Everyone's missing you. They'll not dare say it out loud, but I can tell. I think that's what makes the hate burn longer, because I know what a massive hole you've left behind, what hurt you've caused by taking yourself away from us all. I don't know if things can ever be the same again, but you've got other priorities now. So you've got to wake up and be the mother you've always wanted to be".


	18. Chapter 18

11:30 27th February 2013 Dingles Homestead, Emmerdale, Yorkshire

Belle was looking through the laundry basket outside her bedroom for her red skinny jeans when she happened to overhear something that deeply disturbed her.

"I took the bairn upstairs to settle him down and he'd gone by the time I'd come back again" she heard a rattled Diane telling Lisa, "I didn't realise until today that he had taken the letter".

Belle heard her mother trying to calm Diane down, not understanding what she was telling her, "what letter? Why would Our Cain nick your post?"

"Not my post. It was addressed to Chas. I was going to destroy it, but I hadn't had time. It was on the side. A credit card statement I think"

"Oh" was the only thing Lisa had to say to this.

"If he saw something…"

"I know" Lisa nodded. Both women hated what Chas had done to Debbie, couldn't forgive her for her actions and the trouble they'd caused. But neither wanted her punished the way Cain seemed hell bent on doing.

Lisa shrugged, "well he has gone away, went late last night saying he had a bit of business in Ireland. But there's nothing we can do is there? The silly girl hasn't told anyone where she is, we can't warn her."

Diane sighed. "Half of me hopes he does find her, I won't say this in front of Debbie or any of the rest of your lot, but I don't half miss her" she confided in Lisa.

Lisa nodded, "Aye, I'm the same. But Cain's on a mission, there's no telling what he'll do if he finds her".

Belle crept back into her room and pulled her mobile out of her pocket. She scrolled down a couple of names and pressed call.

"Hello?" a confused voice came on the other end.

"Aaron?" Belle spoke as quietly as she could, "it's Belle".

"Belle? You okay? What's going on?" Aaron was surprised to hear his cousin, he'd never received a call from her before.

"It's Cain. I think he knows where Chas is. He nicked her post and left for Ireland last night. I remember Shadrach talking about going to Ireland all the time, I think she's there. I don't know what to do, Cain's been proper awful lately and I'm worried he's going to hurt her if he finds her."

"Belle, calm down, it'll be fine. I'll sort it"

"How?" she asked, starting to cry

"Just trust me."

"Okay. Shall I tell my mum?"

"No. Not yet. I'll call you back when I've got news. Don't worry."

The line went dead and Belle threw her phone onto her bed and wiped her tears. She pulled a box out from underneath her bed, a large cardboard box with a post-it note on the top which read "_for Ding Dong x_" in a familiar scrawl. She lifted the lid and peered inside at the contents, although there was no need to look – she'd pored over them so many times, she knew them off by heart. Books she'd read twenty times each, photographs of family she'd laughed and cried over, some old school books she'd found useful in her own studies and some bits of jewellery and perfume she wore when she knew no one would notice.

She pulled the most precious item out and pushed the box back under her bed before climbing under her covers and sitting up in bed, propped up against her pillows. She opened the battered book to the first page and traced her fingers over the faded green writing.

"_Chas Dingle, Keep Out"_

When she'd first found the old scrappy book at the bottom of the box she'd ignored it, thinking it was an old exercise book Chas had kept. It wasn't until she'd devoured all of the other books she'd been left that she'd given it a second look. But there hadn't been many days since then that she hadn't looked in it at least once.

You couldn't call it a diary, the entries were too far apart. More of a collection of thoughts and memories, written in the same handwriting as was on the post-it note. The first entry was in very young handwriting, dated February 1987.

_Today is my 9__th_ b_irthday. First one in a while that my dad remembered and he got me the best present I've ever had -he took me to the cinema and for a bun at a café in Hotten. But the best thing was he was sober – not one drink all day. He's off at the pub now, but he managed to last til this evening without even one sneaky pint. I'm so proud of him. Cain even remembered this year – bought me a huge bag of sweets and this book. Well, when I say bought, I'm sure he nicked them, but the thought's there. I reckon Charity probably had more to do with it than him, but I don't care, this is the best birthday ever. _

After that, there were lots of random entries, lists and doodles, little glimpses into Chas's past. Belle's favourites were a list entitled "_Ten Ways to Deal With Cain_" and a story Chas had written when she was eleven in which she became a top lawyer and defended all of her family members in court.

Belle had used the Cain list several times, especially number 6 – "_the quickest way to get Cain to shut up and leave you alone is to tell him you love him_". The more she'd read, the more she felt she'd got to know her cousin, and the more she missed her presence now. She wanted to talk to her about everything in the book, the things she'd experienced, the way she'd felt when she'd found out she was pregnant at thirteen – younger than Belle was now.

Belle wondered where she was now, worried about what Cain would do when he found her. She didn't know why Chas had gone with Cameron when he was with Debbie, she didn't understand why she'd break the family code like that. But she also didn't understand why the rest of the family had been so enthusiastic about banishing her. She'd watched every single member of her family do a lot worse at different times, (except perhaps her mother) and they'd all been forgiven.

And knowing what Chas had put up with from Shadrach and Cain over the years only made Belle more angry on her behalf for being turned on for making one mistake. She knew Debbie had had a tough year with Sarah and she thanked God that little Liam had come along and saved her. But Chas had supported Debbie through all that, just as much as anyone else. She'd raised money for Sarah to go to Paris, paid herself for the ticket. And she'd been there for her mum when her dad had gone off his head. Belle marvelled that she'd been able to keep herself sane whilst juggling so many balls at once. No wonder she'd run off, she'd probably got fed up of having to lie to everyone.

Belle decided she'd give Aaron until the evening and if he hadn't called back, she'd tell her mum what was happening. With that decision made, she sank back into her bed and carried on reading the book, trying to take her mind off her niggling worry that something terrible was happening somewhere far away.


	19. Chapter 19

22:00 27th February 2013 Dingle District Hospital, Dingle Peninsula, County Kerry, Ireland

Aaron was outside having a cigarette, talking on the phone to Carl, who'd called to see what was going on. He'd told him everything that had happened and promised to keep him updated on the situation. He had been so calm and understanding, he'd made Aaron feel like everything might turn out alright after all.

They were in the middle of saying goodbye when Aaron saw Cain come out and lean against the wall on the opposite side of the entrance, taking deep, shuddering breaths and looking up to the sky.

"Got to go now, I'll speak to you tomorrow" Aaron said, "Bye".

He ended the call and pushed the phone into his pocket, before throwing his cigarette butt on the floor and walking over to his uncle.

"Cain?" he called, getting his attention.

Cain looked over and tried to cover his distress by scowling, but Aaron saw through it.

"Something happened?" Aaron asked, wondering what was causing his obvious upset.

Cain shook his head. Aaron waited for him to speak. It took a while, but eventually Cain began talking.

"Months of wondering where and why, and this…I just…" but he couldn't explain his thoughts. He'd never been able to express himself in words, he found it much easier to talk with his fists.

Aaron saw the struggle, felt it himself more often than not. "She knows" he told his uncle, earning a questioning look back. "Mam" he explained, "if it wasn't for the baby, she said she would have faced up to you, taken a beating, she'd have begged for forgiveness, and then hoped that one day she'd be allowed back into the fold. She was itching to talk to you, to all of you. She missed the family so much – all of us – but especially you. She said it felt like her left arm was missing, knowing she couldn't speak to you ever again. She knew that it was eating you up, looking for her and never finding her. I thought it was just because you were after revenge, but she always said it wasn't just about that. And I can see now, she was right".

Cain nodded, refusing to look at Aaron, because if he did, he'd see that he was crying. Tears of frustration and love, and in the knowledge that his sister still knew him better than anyone else on the planet.

Aaron's phone started vibrating and Cain took the opportunity of him being distracted to discretely wipe his eyes. Aaron pulled his phone out and saw it was Belle calling. She must be worried, it had been hours since she'd called to warn him. He didn't want to talk to her yet, so he rejected the call and turned to Cain.

"Belle" he told him, waving the phone, "she overheard Diane telling Lisa you'd stolen her post and called me. Thought I might be able to sort it".

"Smart kid" Cain acknowledged. He was rung out, unsure of what to do next.

"What shall I tell her?" Aaron asked. He felt strangely calm, like he was on autopilot.

"Nothing yet" Cain answered, "let's see what the deal is with your mum, and go from there".

Both men went back inside and walked in silence to Chas's room. The doctor was in there with two nurses, everyone taking readings and conferring quietly. When he noticed the newcomers, the doctor greeted them with a small smile.

"Hi. Good news, everything is under control and we're happy with the way Miss Thomas is responding to the treatment. The system function tests weren't completely clear – she was in the first stages of renal failure and she has a bit of fluid on her lungs, but it's all treatable, nothing to worry about in the long run".

Aaron and Cain both let out sighs of relief.

"When will she wake up?" Aaron asked.

"Could be a few days yet" the doctor told him, "it's really hard to say. Quite often with eclampsia-related comas, the patient will have memory loss, so it may be scary for her when she wakes, as she may not remember the birth, perhaps even the couple of days before it. Although, from what I've heard about the birth, it may be for the best – sounds like it was pretty traumatic" he laughed.

Cain said nothing.

"What about the baby?" Aaron asked.

"All good" was the reply, "we can keep her in overnight, but we'll be happy to release her into your care tomorrow Mr Thomas, until your mother comes round".

Aaron and Cain looked at each other in surprise "me?" Aaron asked.

"Yes" the doctor smiled, "it says in your mother's notes, she made it clear if anything was to happen, her next of kin – son, Aaron Thomas – would be contacted and given full legal guardianship of the baby. She has given you authority to make decisions regarding her own care in case that was to be an issue also, but thank the gods, that wasn't necessary".

"Did she not talk to you about it?" Cain asked.

"No" was all he could say.

"She must have known something was going to happen" Cain carried on.

"Yeah. She was scared she was gonna die and leave the baby on her own" Aaron replied, "I suppose this was her way of making sure we'd at least have each other if…" but he couldn't finish.

And Cain didn't want him to. He had Chas's words circling his head again, _"Please, please please, keep her safe. Don't let them get her. Promise me, you'll not let him take her away"._

The doctor started speaking again, "I'd suggest you go home, get some rest and prepare your place for the new arrival. Sandy is in safe hands with us, you can come back after nine tomorrow and visit her".

They nodded, both still stunned. The doctor and nurses left the room for them to say their goodbyes.

Aaron gave Chas a kiss on her forehead, avoiding the huge bandage that was still wrapped around her head wound. He whispered into her ear, "see you tomorrow, Mum. Love you" and left the room.

Cain approached tentatively. There was no kiss, but there was a squeeze of the hand. And a gruff sort of whisper; "I'm so glad I found you. We can fix this together, I promise".

Uncle and nephew got into Aaron's rental car and drove back to Chas's little cottage to start fixing the physical damage that had been done. The rest could wait 'til the morning.

**I know there are some people reading this, but are you enjoying it? Review if you have a brain and fingers please, I'd love to know thoughts. **


	20. Chapter 20

22:30 27th February 2013 Lough, Dingle Peninsula, County Kerry, Ireland

The drive home had been in complete silence, neither man having much to say. When they got back to the house, they walked past the broken door and into the living room. Cain sat heavily on the sofa as Aaron looked around.

There wasn't much to see. No TV, not much furniture apart from the sofa and a couple of battered leather chairs. There was a small table in the corner, on which sat a laptop and a pile of books. On the mantelpiece above an open log fire was a vase of fresh flowers and some framed photos of friends and family, one of the few things Chas had brought with her from her old life.

Aaron knew his mum didn't make much money in the pub, but he didn't realise she'd been living so frugally for the last few months. He hoped she'd not been lying to him about looking after herself.

"Brew?" he asked his uncle, who nodded gratefully.

Aaron went into the kitchen and flipped the kettle on. He was relieved to see that there was a lot of baby-related equipment around, a bottle warmer, bottles, formula and such like. He was hoping he and Cain wouldn't have to go searching local shops for baby stuff before bringing Evie home. He opened cupboards and the fridge as he made the tea, noticing the bounty of baby supplies and distinct lack of adult food. His mother still seemed to have been living on a diet of rice, bread and sweets. He gave a small smile to himself at her stubbornness and took the drinks back through to the living room, only to find Cain was no longer there.

He sighed and went upstairs, treading carefully around the bloodstains on the carpet and bits of splintered wood that littered the floor. He pushed open a door with his foot, turned the light on with his elbow and quickly scanned his mum's room. As he'd told Cain earlier, it looked like a crime scene; blood everywhere, sheets and towels strewn all over, a first aid kit spilled out by the door next to a bag of ice that had long since turned to water. Just like the living room, there wasn't much in the room apart from a bed, a wardrobe, an ancient set of drawers and a battered bedside table, on which there was a lamp, a mobile phone and a framed picture of Aaron.

Aaron smiled and left, still in search of his uncle. He pushed the next door with his foot but saw that this one was empty, completely undecorated and untouched. He found his quarry in the last room he ventured into. Cain was sat on a rocking chair by the window, bathed in the moonlight that was spilling through the large panes. He was flicking through a book and Aaron couldn't tell if the expression on his face was one of pain or happiness, or both. He put Cain's cup down on the set of drawers near to him, catching his attention, then flicked the main light on to get a good look at this room.

His breath caught in his chest as he took in the beauty of the room. The walls had recently been painted a light grey colour with white borders. There was plenty of furniture, all hand painted in pale lilac, with the crib taking pride of place in the centre. It was like something out of a catalogue, everything matching, everything shining, everything perfectly placed.

"Blimey" Aaron said quietly, "you can see where she's been spending her wages".

Cain looked up from the book, eyes shining, his face still unreadable "she'll have done all of it herself" he told the younger man, "she built sets when she was at uni, knows how to swing a paint brush".

Aaron raised his eyebrows, surprised at this new bit of information and impressed at the idea that his mum didn't just buy all of the beautiful furniture but decorated it herself.

Cain downed his tea and stood up, "I'll sort the doors out if you tidy up the bedroom" he suggested.

Aaron nodded his acquiescence, he was good at fixing cars but wouldn't have the first clue about fixing the front door, it looked broken beyond repair to him.

The men got to work, Cain finding a load of tools in a shed at the back of the house and doing his best to patch up the damage he'd done hours previously. Aaron pulled all of the towels and sheets from the bed and stuck them on a high wash with plenty of washing powder, trying not to think about what they were covered in. He then sprayed all of the affected carpet liberally with stain remover and gave them a scrub. Cain carried the bathroom door downstairs and outside as it was irredeemable.

Aaron had to wait for the stain remover to sink in before vacuuming, so he made himself another brew and went back to the nursery to sit in the rocking chair and watch from the window as Cain chopped up the door with an axe. He was wielding the axe with great force, his arm coming up high and then smashing down over and over again. He had his back to Aaron, but he saw it must have been strenuous as he kept stopping to wipe his face. The door was nearly completely obliterated when he stopped once more, but this time he dropped to his knees, letting the axe fall before holding his head in his hands. Aaron realised with a lump in his throat that it hadn't been sweat he'd been wiping, but tears. He watched in wonder as his uncle sobbed on the dirty stone floor, wondering what had caused him to break apart more forcefully than the door in front of him.

He turned away, feeling suddenly uncomfortable at witnessing such a private moment. The book Cain had been reading caught his eye and he picked it up from the drawers. He saw that it was hand bound, with "Tales for Evie Rose" painted on the front in gold.

He flipped through it and realised straight away that this book was what had upset Cain so much. Because it was about him. Not just him; there were other characters in there, including Aaron himself, but the two characters that featured most often were his mum and uncle.

She'd written dozens of short stories, all in a beautiful purple ink that shimmered on the page. And each story was illustrated with funny little doodles dotted around. There was a story about three naughty kittens who tricked a cowardly lion into buying his own food from them then went to spend their money on sweets. Aaron didn't know how his mum had managed it, but there was no doubt in his mind that the kittens were Cain, Charity and Chas, and the Cowardly Lion was his granddad.

He smiled and turned the page to see himself smiling back, dressed in a knight's armour. He read the story about a brave knight who overcame great obstacles in order to find the man who had put a curse on him when he was a child. He lost his best friend on the way – a talking bear with curly hair, a cheeky grin and big brown eyes – and fought a witch (which he laughed to see had more than a fleeting resemblance to Hazel), a troll (he saw aspects of both his mum and dad in this doodle, which he found very interesting) and swam through a river of fire. He'd received help from a singing dwarf (Adam) and a kindly ogre (Paddy) and when he finally reached the end of his travels and unmasked the man he'd been searching for, it turned out to be a mirror. A reflection of himself. He had been the person who'd cursed himself, because he'd never realised how brilliant and brave he was. So he smashed the mirror with a sword and lived happily ever after.

Aaron wiped a tear away and looked through more stories. A lot of them were familiar to him – Princess Belle falling down a well, Sam the simple egg seller who turned out to be the richest and wisest man in all the land, Zak the strong man who was put under a spell and forgot who he was until his family helped him remember. But there were other tales he did not recognise, darker ones, where naughty twins with hair as black as ink had to face terrible trials, and it was only through sticking together that they managed to succeed.

Aaron looked up from the book when he heard Cain cough. He felt like he'd been caught reading someone's diary and put it down quickly. Cain ignored this.

"You done?" he asked.

Aaron shook his head, "just need to vac, then I will be" he said heading towards the door.

"I'll make us some supper, it's getting late" Cain said.

"It might have to be tea and toast" Aaron told him, "we'll get some supplies in the morning".

Cain nodded and went downstairs. Aaron was about to go and find the vacuum cleaner when he stopped and pulled his phone from his pocket instead. He found a number in his contacts list and waited for the call to connect.

"Belle? Go and get your mam for me will you? I need a word"


	21. Chapter 21

Hello, thanks so much for the reviews, it's lovely to hear feedback. imissmypaper - no, it's never been mentioned that she's a good artist or writer, that's all my dramatic license. I can just see her being so bored there on her own, and missing her family so much that she's put her energies into something creative. The bit about her building sets at uni was from the show though.

And you'll just have to wait to see where she ends up ;).

Here's another chapter - the family's reaction back home. Let me know what you think.

08:00 28th February 2013 Dingles Homestead, Emmerdale, Yorkshire

Marlon yawned and rubbed his eyes as he listened to Lisa finish telling the family what she'd learnt from Aaron late last night. He'd been woken by a call at seven calling him to an emergency family meeting and, knowing only that Cain had found Chas, he'd trudged up to the homestead with a mixture of curiosity and foreboding.

As he looked around the table, he could see that most of the family were feeling the same as himself; worried, guilty, and a bit useless. He saw that Gennie was crying, she'd been desperately worried about Chas and as a new mother herself, she was probably finding it difficult to hear what had happened. Sam looked upset; he had a simple way of going about life and didn't like to think of others in pain.

The only two who seemed unmoved by Lisa's tale were Debbie and Charity, who sat with their arms folded and matching scowls on their faces as they listened.

"I know this probably isn't going to be welcomed by all of you" Lisa concluded, "but I've decided to go over there. At least until Our Chas wakes up and we know what's what".

"You've got to be kidding" Charity snorted, "why would you want to do that?"

"To look after Our Chas" Sam pointed out as if Charity was stupid, "help Aaron look after the baby".

"I wish you'd all stop calling her 'Our Chas'" Debbie piped up, "because she's not ours anymore. She's banished. Or have you all forgotten what she did?"

Everyone looked down at the table uncomfortably at this. Apart from Lisa, who kept her head high. "I know you're still upset Debbie love, but that was before we knew…"

"What?" Debbie interrupted, "that she'd not just been shagging my fiancé, but was stupid enough to get up the duff an' all? Well I'm sure if she rang him, he'd come running in a flash. I mean, they were so in love, weren't they?"

"But she can't can she…" Sam said confused, "ring him, I mean. Cos she's in a whatsit…a coma thingy…"

"Yeah, thanks Sammy" Charity said sarcastically, "we know what she's in, ta".

"Do you?" Gennie found her voice, "do you actually get what that means? Because you're acting like she's having a nap! Lisa said she's got kidney failure, fluid on her lungs. They don't know when she'll wake up! Do you not care about that in the slightest?"

Charity wavered at this, but one look from Debbie and she pulled herself together, "she's in a hospital, they said she's on the mend. She's got her traitor of a son there to mind the sprog, so why should we have anything to do with her?" She looked to her left and saw Zak sat quietly, uncomfortable with the arguing. "Uncle Zak, tell them the rules – if you're banished, that means no contact".

Zak shifted in his seat, not making eye contact with anyone. He hated this situation, hated the family being at odds with each other. A couple of years ago he would have agreed with Charity, and he was still livid with Chas for doing what she did to Debbie. But after his breakdown, knowing what a dangerous path revenge led to, he didn't want to encourage that sort of hate in Debbie. He'd watched Cain work himself up these last few months with talk of retribution, fuelling Debbie's own fire as he went on failed mission after failed mission to track down his sister. He'd tried to warn him to calm down, focus on getting Debbie back to normal, forget about getting even. But Cain had lost all respect for his opinion. And who could blame him? He'd nearly killed him – his own son- because he couldn't control his rage.

But this was why he wanted this feud to end. If his family could see fit to forgive him after he nearly battered one of them to death, if they could help him through his breakdown, then surely Chas deserved some sort of assistance in her time of need? It broke his heart to disappoint Debbie, but he had to stand by Lisa, just as she'd always stood by him, for better or for worse.

"It's Lisa's decision. If she wants to go, then I'll support her," he said firmly, earning a grateful smile from Lisa.

"I'm going too," Belle piped up. She and her mum had had a good talk last night and Belle had pleaded with her to let her go with her. Seeing how worried she was and how grown up she had been in handling the situation, Lisa allowed her to accompany her.

"I don't believe this!" Debbie erupted, "don't you even care about what she did? Why don't you all go, throw the lying, cheating cow a party!"

"Now hold on Debs, there's no need…" Marlon started to say but was interrupted by Debbie who was in full tantrum now.

"No, don't worry Marlon, I'd expect you take her side – adulterers together and all that. But I'm telling you all now, if you go over there and give that bitch any of your time then it's over between us".

Lisa finally lost it, standing up and bellowing at Debbie, "That's enough! Yes Chas did wrong, no one is denying that, she did really wrong and a part of me will never forgive her for it. But none of us sat here are perfect, not by a long stretch. I remember you doing some downright nasty things in the past young lady, and where would you be now if we'd cast you out? Now Chas may not be innocent, but her baby is. She's just as innocent as Our Sarah, Liam, Sophie, Samson, Leo, Noah...and no matter what any of you may or may not do in the future, no matter who their other parents are, they are Dingles and they will always get love and support from me and Zak. So sulk all you like, but I'm setting off at ten o' clock, with or without your agreement".

Lisa stormed upstairs. Everyone remained in their seats in awed silence.

A minute later, Debbie grabbed her coat and stormed out of the door, fighting back tears, followed quickly by Charity.

Marlon was the first to speak, "I want to come" he told Zak as he stood up, "I'm going to go and talk to Diane, see if I can get a few days off work, then speak to Laurel. Could you tell Lise not to go without me?"

Zak nodded as he watched Marlon race out of the door in a flap. He caught Belle's eye and they smiled at each other.

Gennie looked glum "there's no way I can go" she said unhappily, "I've got Sophie and the factory…"

Sam nodded, "me too…I mean, I've got Samson and work…"

Belle held Gennie's hand, "Chas'll understand" she said, "she probably won't want loads of people crowding her. We'll give her your love, and you never know, we might even be able to talk her into coming home" she said hopefully.

Gennie looked dubious at this, but then a thought occurred to her, "I've got loads of stuff that Sophie's grown out of already, I'll go and pack it up for you to take". She left feeling much better now she could be of some use. Zak and Belle grinned at each other.

"What can I do?" asked Sam, still feeling left out.

"You can make sure Dad behaves while we're away" laughed Belle as she went upstairs to pack and tell her mother what an impact her speech made.


	22. Chapter 22

11:00 28th February 2013 Dingle District Hospital, Dingle Peninsula, County Kerry, Ireland

Aaron and Cain were back at the hospital with a car seat and other paraphernalia needed to take Evie home. They'd spent the morning readying the house for not only the baby's homecoming, but also the extra three Dingles that were on their way over. Aaron had expected Cain to kick off when he told him he'd called Lisa and that she, Belle and Marlon had decided to come, but he actually seemed quite relieved at this news.

He'd been very quiet all morning, brooding darkly as he'd gone about his work. Aaron thought it was best to leave him to it, so he'd gone for a stroll around the area whilst Cain put together a flat pack bed they'd found in the garage and made the spare room a bit more liveable. There was farmland surrounding the house, as far as the eye could see, apart from to the back, where there was a little pebble beach one could only access through a little gate at the bottom of Chas's garden. He remembered his mum telling him excitedly about the cottage she'd found not long after moving to the area. She'd told him it needed work, but it could be brilliant with some imagination. And he saw the appeal; quiet, remote, picturesque – perfect for bringing a child up. He could just picture little Evie toddling around the beach in a couple of years, picking up pebbles, paddling in the water. He vaguely remembered doing similar things with his mum when he was little. He just prayed that she'd wake up soon and be able to finally enjoy being a mother.

They were currently being given advice on caring for Evie from a busty midwife called Clara, who was showing them how to wrap her up the correct way. Aaron could see Cain twitching with impatience.

"Listen love, I've just spent the last few months taking care of my grandson, I think I know how to wrap a baby up right" he huffed.

Clara didn't bat an eyelid at his rudeness, "Grandson, get away with you, you don't look old enough" she flirted with him, disconcerting Cain and making Aaron grin in amusement. She moved towards a special bag on the side and pulled out a bottle of milk, "now we've expressed some milk from Sandy, should be enough here for the next day or so, but don't worry about giving little Evie a bit of formula if you run out".

Aaron scrunched his face up at the thought of them taking milk from his mum whilst she was unconscious. As much as he knew it was for the best in the long run, it felt a bit like they were violating her doing something like that without her permission.

The midwife picked Evie up out of her crib and brought her over. She started fussing a bit at being disturbed. "There, there pet," Clara shushed her, "you're going home, you lucky little mite".

She handed the baby over to Cain, who bobbed her up and down to try to quieten her. But the movement turned her fussing into full on bawling. He looked at Aaron, who had no suggestions as to how to calm her.

Clara smiled, "she's got a set of lungs on her for such a little thing".

"You should meet her mother, then you'll understand" Cain joked.

"Funny you should say that" Clara smiled at them conspiratorially and, taking Evie back, motioned for them to follow her.

Cain and Aaron shrugged at each other and followed, Aaron carrying the bags, Cain carrying the car seat. They stopped in the corridor outside Chas's room. They saw through the window that she was still unconscious, still on a ventilator and still hooked up to several monitors.

"Watch this, it's the strangest thing" Clara said, before taking the now screaming baby into the room. As she got near to the bed, Evie stopped crying straight away and calmed down completely. Clara sat perched on the edge of the bed and the two men watched as Evie closed her little eyes and brought her hand up to her mouth to suck on her fingers.

"Susan, who did the night shift says she was sat here most of the night. Couldn't calm her any other way" Clara whispered to them, "half the staff think it's the whirring of the ventilator that soothes her. The other half, including myself, thinks she just knows she's with her mammy. Sandy's stats always seem to improve when she's around as well".

Although Aaron thought this was pretty amazing, it didn't inspire him to think the next few days were going to be easy sailing. "Let's hope she can use her special psychic powers to realise we're also related, or we're not going to have a moment's peace' he joked.

"Ah, you'll be fine, she just needs to be fed, changed, burped and loved, and I can sense you're both plenty equipped to deal with that". She passed Evie to Cain who put her in her car seat. As he did so, he noticed that Evie was sucking her two little fingers, curling her other two fingers around her nose. He gave a small laugh before picking up the car seat and following Aaron out of the room.

Aaron was packing the car up and fixing the car seat in securely when Cain got a call on his mobile. He sighed as he saw who was ringing and indicated to Aaron he needed to take it, walking away from him as he answered.

"Charity"

"Cain. What the hell's going on? I thought you were sorting it?"

"I am. I was…"

"Well it doesn't sound like it. It sounds like you've managed to get the whole family on her side. I suppose you've heard about the meeting this morning?"

"Aaron might've mentioned it, yeah"

"Did he mention that Debs has been in tears ever since?"

"No…"

"No, course he didn't. Because no one gives a stuff about how this is affecting her now do they? Now precious Chas is in a bit of bother"

"A bit of…right, I'll ring you back in two minutes" Cain spat down the phone and hung up before Charity could reply. He stormed back into the hospital and up to Chas's room. Once there, he called Charity back, but this time via a video call.

He watched his ex's face materialise on the screen. She looked confused.

"What the hell do you think you're playing at?" she asked.

"Just shut up a minute and let me show you summat" he told her, then turned the phone around so that it was pointing towards Chas. He scanned it up and down so that Charity could get a good look at all of the equipment she was hooked up to, all of the marks and bruises and bandages covering her. Then he turned the screen back around to find a very different Charity staring back at him. The penny seemed to have dropped.

"She's going to be okay though isn't she?" Charity asked meekly.

"Do you care?"

"Of course I care. She's my…"

"Exactly" Cain interrupted, "but she was mine before she was any of yours. Any of yours. And noone, especially not you is going to tell me what to do on this".

Charity nodded, "I'll have a word with Debs. Keep me updated will you?"

Cain returned the nod and hung up. He took one last look at his sister and made his way back to his waiting niece and nephew, satisfied that he'd done the right thing.


	23. Chapter 23

19:00 28th February 2013 , Murphy's Pub, Lough, Dingle Peninsula, County Kerry, Ireland

The Dingles had arrived in Lough half an hour ago, Marlon and Lisa having shared driving duties as they drove to the ferry and then made their way across the treacherous Irish countryside. They'd reached the other edge of the country in good time.

Cain and Aaron greeted the familiar Dingle van with apprehension, and rightly so, for as soon as Lisa disembarked, she gave both men a clout round the ear – Aaron for keeping his mother's whereabouts a secret for so long, and Cain for causing so much trouble. These smacks were quickly followed by hugs and a request for them to help in unloading the van, which had been packed to the brim with items sent from friends and family for Chas. This included two large sacks of baby clothes and toys from Gennie and Nikhil, some items of furniture from Paddy, and some of the bits and pieces Chas had left behind with Belle and Diane.

Once inside, the Dingles were introduced to the newest member of the clan and much tearful cooing and holding ensued. Cain suggested everyone go out for a meal as he and Aaron had become a bit stir-crazy in the house all day. So they were now all sat in Murphy's Pub, Evie being held closely by Belle, who had barely put her down since she'd first laid eyes on her.

"Don't be getting any ideas" Lisa joked as she saw how enamoured the teenager was with her cousin.

"As if" Belle rolled her eyes at her mum, "she's beautiful, but as soon as she starts screaming she's going straight back to Aaron".

"Cheers" Aaron shot back, but took it in good humour. He was glad of the female company; Evie had only stopped crying for longer than ten minutes once the family had arrived.

A middle-aged lady with auburn hair and freckles came over to take their order. When she noticed Evie in Belle's arms, she looked around the table and recognised Cain with suspicion.

"You're Sandy's friend aren't you? Is she okay? I've been trying to get hold of her, with no luck."

Cain had the good grace to look ashamed as he answered, "she's in hospital" he told her, "but she'll be fine".

Fianna was aghast at this news, "hospital? Why? Is the baby okay?"

Lisa saw Cain was struggling and took charge, "the baby's fine, as you can see" she said indicating Evie, "healthy and happy with her family. My name's Lisa, you are…?"

"Fianna. I'm Sandy's boss. I can't believe she's had the baby, and there was me telling her they were practice pains. She'll kill me when I see her. But then why's she still in hospital if the baby's out? And sorry to be rude, but where's all this family appeared from? She told me it was just her and her son" she looked at Aaron, "who looks just as handsome as he does in his picture. You must be Aaron?".

Aaron nodded, amused at the fact the woman hadn't yet taken a breath. She definitely had the gift of the gab, just as his mum had described. Lisa told the lady to have a seat and Belle gave her a hold of Evie as they told her the truth of the situation, including Chas's real identity. The only thing they missed out was Cain's involvement in the birth and the full reason Chas had run away.

Fianna was both moved and astounded by the story, especially at her friend's real identity.

"Dingle? Chastity Dingle? Then she must be Shadrach's daughter?"

Belle laughed in surprise, "you knew Shadders?"

Fianna smiled, "oh yes, everyone round here knows Shadrach Dingle, he'd breeze into town every so often with tales of woe, drink the pub dry, then breeze back out again. Always a gentleman though, and full of tales and songs. He's a local hero."

"Only in Ireland…" Cain scoffed.

"I can't believe we've had his daughter living here all this time and not known about it" she carried on, ignoring the sullen man beside her, "and why's the old fella himself not here? He used to talk of her fondly. And her brother…now what was his name, another biblical monstrosity? Not that I can talk with a name like Fianna…"

"Cain" Marlon told her, "I'm afraid Shadrach passed away a couple of years ago. But Cain's sat next to you" he pointed to his cousin.

Fianna smiled sadly at Cain, "I'm sorry to hear it, he was a grand fella, your Da. Always talking about how clever his two kids were. Always crying into his pint about how much he felt he let you down".

Cain would normally be quick to correct anyone about his parentage, never wanting to be associated with that drunken layabout. But hearing that Shadrach had once lamented his behaviour towards his children made him miss him, just for one fleeting moment, so he simply nodded in response.

Fianna handed the baby back and took their food orders, insisting on it all being on the house. She also offered free board in the pub's spare room for Lisa and Belle who accepted gratefully. When the meal was over, the men went back to the house with the baby and Cain left Marlon and Aaron to put Evie to bed as he drove the girls' belongings up to the pub. As Belle took her bag from her big brother, she took out an old battered exercise book and pressed it into his hand.

"You need to read this" she told him, "Chas left it for me, but I'll let you borrow it. It's a good read"

She skipped into the pub before he could argue, leaving a confused Cain to look to Lisa for an explanation.

"Don't look at me love, I've never seen it before" she told him.

"I'll pick you up about eight tomorrow" he told Lisa, "visiting hours start at nine. I'll get Our Marlon to make us breakfast first".

"Are you going to be okay with little Evie?" Lisa asked worriedly. She was starting to regret saying yes to Fianna's kind offer.

"We managed last night didn't we?" Cain huffed, "and now soft lad Marlon's here, I'm sure we'll be fine" he said, turning to go back to his car, book in hand.

"Cain…" Lisa stopped him, "I know none of this is easy for you. I just wanted to say…well…I'm proud of the way you're handing this, son."

Cain walked away without a word, but he couldn't help a small feeling of pride to buzz through him as he basked in his stepmother's words of praise.


	24. Chapter 24

02:00 1st March 2013 , Lough, Dingle Peninsula, County Kerry, Ireland

Marlon woke to the sound of a baby crying. It took him a few seconds to remember he wasn't at home, and the baby wasn't Leo. He jumped straight out of bed and made his way quickly from the spare room to Evie's room in the dark, trying to be as quiet as possible. He picked the tiny thing up from her cot and held her close to him, whispering soothing noises into her ear. She quietened down, but it was clear she was hungry, so he carried her downstairs to get her a feed.

He got to the bottom of the stairs and was surprised to see light spilling underneath the living room door. He'd expected everyone to be asleep. He pushed the door and saw that the sofa on which Cain was supposed to be sleeping was empty. He ventured through to the kitchen and found his cousin preparing a bottle for Evie.

"Thought I was doing the night shift?" Marlon said as he took the bottle from Cain.

"Couldn't sleep. Heard her crying so thought I'd get it sorted" he replied as he followed Marlon back into the living room. They both sat on the sofa as Marlon held the bottle and Evie drank greedily.

Marlon pulled something from underneath him that was making him uncomfortable. Seeing it was a battered old exercise book, he looked at Cain quizzically.

"Been doing your maths homework?"

Cain went to take it from him, but Marlon pulled it away from his grasp and flicked through it. He recognised the handwriting.

"Have you been rifling through her drawers?" he asked, not particularly surprised – nothing Cain did surprised him anymore – but confused as to why he'd do it.

"Belle brought it" Cain defended, annoyed his cousin believed the worst in him, like everyone else always did, "Chas left it with her. She thought it'd do me good to have a bedtime story".

Marlon skimmed through one of the entries. It was from Chas's teenage years, when she'd first found out she was pregnant. She sounded scared and confused. She mentioned Cain being locked up and Shadrach missing. Marlon remembered first finding out that Chas had had a baby. It was a huge shock for the family for two reasons. The first was that she'd kept it secret – no one managed to keep a secret for long amongst the Dingles. The second was that it was Chas herself, who'd always been adamant she wouldn't end up a pregnant teenager with no prospects – she'd been terrifyingly single-minded about being successful when she was a kid.

What had impressed Marlon about Chas was that she'd seemed to take her change of fate on the chin and put all of her energies into being a mother. She'd surprised everyone by moving in with Gordon Livesy and his family and bringing Aaron up whilst still attending school and passing all of her exams. She seemed to have met all of life's challenges with ease and good humour.

Then, almost as quickly, she'd run out on her son and husband, given up on a seemingly comfortable life and taken up a career as a stripper. 'What a waste' he'd always thought. He'd never understood why she seemed to mess her life up so spectacularly when things were starting to go well for her. He still found it hard to forgive her for cheating on Paddy with Carl, breaking his best mate's heart. And the latest affair, with Debbie's boyfriend, he just couldn't get his head around. She'd always been so loyal to the family in the past, much more so than most of the clan.

He passed the book to Cain and burped Evie, trying her again with the bottle, which she went back to happily. Cain sat staring at the page Marlon had just been reading. He finally spoke,

"Have you ever looked back at your past through someone else's eyes and realised you've let them down completely?" he asked.

Marlon reflected on the question for a few seconds and then nodded, "when I look back at the last year from Paddy's point of view, I can barely believe I was such a terrible friend. I caused him so much grief because I was so single-minded. And we both let Leo down acting like idiots"

Cain smiled grimly. He'd not expected Marlon to understand how he was feeling. Marlon carried on.

"But Paddy was in the wrong too. I can't take responsibility for his actions, any more than you can for Chas's. You were a kid too, you weren't her dad".

"No. She wasn't my mum, but she always looked out for me. And Shadrach. Seven years old and she was the responsible one. Never stood a chance really. We should have let the social take her in when they tried".

"I don't think this is why Belle gave you this Cain" Marlon spoke softly, "you're missing the point".

"What point?"

"Look how often she wrote about you, and Shadrach. She missed you, she loved you. Still does probably. I think Belle just wants you to see that Chas is still the kid that wrote this stuff, she's still your little sister. You can't just look at her based on one action. She never did with you".

Cain nodded, taking this in. Marlon ploughed on, broaching a subject he was dreading bringing up.

"I spoke to Diane before I came over. She gave me a cheque for the profits from the share Chas signed over before she left. She's been saving them for her just in case"

"And?"

"And she wants me to tell Chas that she's welcome back if she wants to return. But if not, she'll find a buyer, get her a fair amount for her half".

Cain knew that Diane saw Chas as a surrogate daughter. He knew she'd been missing her.

"No skin off my nose. She won't want to come back though" Cain said bluntly.

"She might…if…"

"If what? If I forgave her? If I begged her to come back? Had a word with Debbie?"

"Well, yeah"

Cain shook his head, "You've never got us have you? She'll not come back, she'd never do it to Debbie".

Marlon was a bit stung by the first comment. He'd always felt like an outsider with some of his family because he was a bit of a softie. But he let it go. "I'm going to ask her anyway, just in case" he told Cain.

Cain just nodded. In truth, he would love to be wrong. But he knew he wasn't, not about this.

Marlon burped Evie again and took her upstairs. She went down without a problem, so Marlon took himself back to the spare room and settled down in bed to get a few more hours sleep. Tomorrow was going to be a big day, for better or for worse, and he knew he needed as much energy as he could muster to face it.


	25. Chapter 25

Thanks for the reviews, I love getting feedback. Hope you enjoy the next chapter.

11:00 1st March 2013 , Dingle District Hospital, Dingle Peninsula, County Kerry, Ireland

The Dingles had all met for a Marlon-cooked breakfast at the cottage, then made their way to the hospital to see Chas. Cain agreed it was probably best for him not to be around if and when she woke up, so he quickly looked in on his sister, then took Evie for a walk around a nearby park in her pram.

It was a shock for Lisa, Marlon and Belle when they saw Chas lying in the bed, still hooked up to many machines. Her bruises seemed to be clearing, and she'd been taken off the ventilator, so Aaron felt quite positive about his mum's recovery. But having not seen what state she was in two days ago, the rest of the family weren't so confident in Chas's improvement.

"Honestly Belle," Aaron told his cousin, who was crying, "she's doing well. She'll be awake soon, I know it".

They sat with her for an hour, then the nurses shooed them out to do some checks, so they went up to the canteen to get some lunch. Marlon spent the time complaining about the sub-standard food you always get in hospitals, whilst Belle and Lisa picked at their food without saying much. Aaron was about to go for a cigarette when he saw a worried-looking Clara enter the canteen and look around. When she saw Aaron, she hurried over to him and he stood quickly, bracing himself for bad news.

"I think you need to come down" she told him, "your mammy's awake, but she's fighting".

"Fighting what?" Aaron asked, confused.

"Everyone and everything," the nurse answered, beckoning the family to follow her and explaining as they walked, "she started to wake up not longer after you left. She was groggy and disorientated, not remembering anything. She became more and more agitated as she came round. We tried to calm her down by telling her her baby was safe. But when I said your uncle was looking after her…"

Aaron could see where this was going. So did the rest of the family, they shared looks of trepidation as the nurse carried on talking, picking up their pace as they made their way downstairs. Aaron pulled out his phone and texted Cain, telling him that Chas was awake and to get back to the hospital ASAP.

"…well, I've never seen anything like it. She tried to get out of bed, ripped all of her lines out before we could stop her. When the doctor tried to push her back down on the bed, she punched him a good one, right in the eye. He's going to have a right shiner later, I can tell you! It's taken two orderlies and a nurse to keep her in her bed. I'm hoping one of you can calm her down because she really needs to rest. She's still on treatment for her kidneys, if it's interrupted, she may go back into renal failure. Not to mention the fluid on her lungs."

As they got onto the ward, they could hear Chas screaming at someone to let her go. Her voice sounded strangled, which made it even more distressing to hear. Aaron broke into a run, sprinting down the corridor and into the room. His mum was being restrained by two burly orderlies while a nurse tried to reason with her. Tears were spilling down her face, which was contorted in anguish. When she saw Aaron, she stopped struggling and shouting and stared at her son, not knowing how to react to his presence.

Aaron was so relieved to see her awake, but at the same time, hated seeing her in so much pain. He moved towards her, arms held out, and the orderlies moved out of the way to allow her to sink into his embrace. Huge wracking sobs took over her, just like the day she'd first told him why she'd left Emmerdale, many months ago now. And just like that day, he held her tight and waited for her to calm down.

But she didn't calm down, she kept on sobbing, repeating the same thing over and over in her croaky, wheezy voice, "he's got her, he's taken her, she's gone". Her sobs turned into coughs, painful sounding coughs that came from deep within her chest. She was struggling to breathe now, but there was no sign of her calming down. Aaron saw Lisa edge into the room, but Chas didn't notice her, she was too deeply entrenched in her misery to see anything going on around her.

Aaron pulled away from his mum and took her face in both of his hands, speaking clearly to her.

"Mum. Listen to me, she's safe, he's not taken her anywhere, he'll be here soon, with the baby, I promise"

Chas looked into her son's blue eyes for any sign of deceit, but could find none, "she's really okay?"

Aaron nodded, "she's healthy and strong".

"She's a little belter" Lisa said from the corner, causing Chas to whip her head round in shock.

"Lise…?"

Lisa stepped forwards and gave Chas a kiss on the cheek and a big hug, "oh, you don't know how good it is to see you in the flesh, love".

Chas started coughing again and Clara came over, pulling an oxygen mask over her face and gently pushing Chas back onto the bed. "Now you keep this on this time Sandy, darlin', or we'll be forced to put you back on a ventilator" she told Chas sternly. She made Chas wince as she pressed a piece of gauze onto her arm. It was bleeding quite badly from where she'd ripped her line out.

"What do you remember?" Aaron asked his mum as they watched the nurse reattach lines and wires, take readings and then leave the room.

Chas shook her head, "Nothing. I don't know" she told him, her voice muffled through the mask. "Last solid memory is working at the pub. I felt rough, Fianna kept trying to send me home but I wanted to stay. Oh god, did I go into labour at the pub? Did I pass out again and fall over? Is all of this my fault?"

Lisa frowned, "what do you mean, again?" she asked.

Aaron explained, "she's had really high blood pressure. She's fainted a few times, had to be careful about what she eats and how much she does. But you have been careful, haven't you?" he asked his mum.

"Yeah, really careful, I promise" she answered, "so what happened then? How have I ended up in here? How has Cain ended up with my daughter? And how are you two both here?"

"Not both. There's a couple more stragglers waiting outside. You up for visitors?" Lisa asked.

Chas threw a terrified look towards Aaron, but he smiled his encouragement, so she nodded in agreement.

They'd obviously been listening at the door, because as soon as Lisa started to say she'd go and find them, Belle and Marlon came bounding into the room. Chas smiled to see her cousins, she'd missed them so much. They gave her careful hugs and settled into chairs by her bed.

"How are you feeling?" Belle asked.

"You're a sight for sore eyes" Marlon said.

Chas couldn't speak, she was so overwhelmed. Tears started to fall again, running down the side of her mask.

"Hey," Marlon soothed, grabbing her hand and rubbing it, "no need for tears."

"Sorry" she sniffed, trying to pull herself together, "I just…never thought I'd see you again, any of you. I don't know how it's happened, but it's so nice to see you all".

Aaron's phone started to ring, it was Cain calling, "Hello?...No….no, you come here…she's fine, she's awake…..no, I'm not going anywhere, you come here. Bye".

Everyone looked to Aaron for an explanation. "Cain's on his way, with Evie".

"Beautiful name, by the way" Lisa said to Chas, but she wasn't listening, she was too nervous. She'd not seen her brother for months. She'd missed him, but she'd also been terrified he'd catch up with her. It seemed like that had happened, but she had no memory of it. At least, she thought she had no memory of it. Except, her mind kept flashing to an image of him snarling at her, calling her a selfish bitch, and she didn't know where it had come from. And her daughter. It seemed like everyone had met her before her. Only that wasn't true, she just couldn't remember meeting her, which was even worse.

"Mum!" Aaron shouted, finally getting her attention. She'd been staring into space for two minutes, not reacting to anything anyone was saying. Her face had been blank, like she was in a trance.

"Sorry, what?" Chas pulled herself together, and tried to focus, just as Cain walked into the room holding a little bundle in his arms.

He made no eye contact with anyone, just walked over to the bed and made to pass the baby to his sister. But she refused to take her, instead pulling the mask off her face so that she could speak clearly.

"Either I've got really bad déjà vu," she croaked, "or we've done this dance before".

"Just take her will you," he said, still not looking at her, "she's what you've been waiting for".

She grabbed his arm suddenly, making him look into her eyes, "she's not the only one" she said, before taking her daughter gently out of his hold.

Cain was taken aback by the warmth in his sister's eyes. He was expecting fear, or anger, but he saw only love, aimed at him. He didn't know what to do with that, so he left quickly. Chas didn't notice though – her sole concern was her daughter, who she held and fussed over, feeling complete for the first time in years.


	26. Chapter 26

3rd March 2013 , Dingle District Hospital, Dingle Peninsula, County Kerry, Ireland

Two days later and Chas was given the all clear from the doctor. Her blood pressure had come down to a satisfactory level and all of her obs were clear. She still had a bad cough, due to fluid lingering on her lungs, but other than that, she was healthy enough to be discharged.

And it couldn't have come sooner in her opinion – she was bored out of her mind and just wanted to go home and get her life back to some semblance of normality. Fianna had visited with a big bunch of flowers and a stern ticking off. She apologised for keeping her in the dark about her true identity and told her the full story of how she came to live in Lough. She half expected the woman to sack her once she'd found out about her affair, knowing that Fianna was staunchly Catholic. But instead, she gave her a hug and told her stories about Shadrach's visits. She'd told her to come back to work when she was ready and not before.

The doctor came in with her discharge papers and a portable blood pressure monitor, which was a condition of her release.

"Three times a day Ms Thomas, sorry, Dingle – I keep forgetting" the doctor told her as he passed her the kit, "if your blood pressure gets above one hundred and fifty, then come straight back in".

Chas smiled sheepishly as she took it, "Will do, and sorry again about your eye".

The doctor nodded and left, still a bit embarrassed that a five foot five woman who had just come round from a coma had managed to plant one straight in his face. He'd been in the university boxing club, for God's sake!

As the doctor left, Aaron arrived, carrying Evie, who Chas quickly swapped for the monitor.

"Hello beautiful" she cooed at her daughter, holding her close and kissing her forehead.

"Hi" Aaron replied, earning a smile from Chas.

"You all set?" he asked.

Chas nodded, "all set" she said, looking at the door with approbation. Now that it was time to leave, all she wanted to do was hide under her hospital bed with Evie and never come out.

She realised Aaron was talking again, but she had no idea what he'd been saying. "Sorry love, say that again?" she said.

Aaron flashed a worried look at his mother. He'd been talking to her for the last few minutes and she'd seemingly not registered any of it. The doctor had told him she might zone out sometimes, and suffer short-term memory loss, but it wasn't nice to witness. He saw her waiting for him to repeat what he said, completely unaware that she'd spaced out.

"Never mind" he said, smiling as he picked up her bag, "let's go".

When they arrived home, it was to an empty house.

"No welcome party?" Chas asked, but she didn't seem disappointed. She was dreading coming home to a big fuss almost as much as she was dreading coming home to face her brother. Cain hadn't been back to visit her in hospital since the day she'd awoken and she knew there was unfinished business between them.

"No, we thought you'd want a bit of space to settle in. They've gone on a day trip to Kerry, be back this evening".

"Cain's on a day trip?" Chas asked dubiously.

"Well, no, he went to look up a mate somewhere else yesterday. But he said he'll be back at some point tonight too".

Evie started fussing in Chas's arms, so she held her closer and made to go upstairs, "she'll need a feed and a nap" she said.

"I'll make us some food. Got some grown up groceries for you. Do you think you'll be able to eat normal food now you'll have no morning sickness to contend with? Could make a cheese sandwich to test the waters?" Aaron offered.

Chas grinned at her son's thoughtfulness, "yeah, that'd be nice. Been dreaming about grilled cheese sandwiches the last couple of months," she told him.

"One grilled cheese sandwich coming up" he replied, and they went their separate ways.

Chas felt strange walking through her house once more. She kept having flashes of memory that she couldn't place properly in her mind. As she passed her bathroom, she noticed that the door had been replaced. She raised a hand to her head, feeling for the gap in her hair, running her fingers lightly over the ridge of flesh that had been stitched back together. She looked around for splinters on the floor, but she couldn't see any.

Evie moved in her arms, gurgling her impatience, and so she moved up the corridor and into the nursery. She saw that this too was very different from how she remembered it. There were clothes and toys piled on the shelves – far more than any she could afford. Lisa had told her that Gennie had sent over some of Sophie's old things, but she hadn't expected so much. A lump rose in her throat as she reflected on how generous her family had been, and how much she didn't deserve this generosity.

She sat in the chair by the window and allowed Evie to latch on and feed greedily as she rocked backwards and forwards. She watched her daughter, her beautiful little miracle, and she knew that despite her wretch of a mother and coward of a father, Evie deserved the generosity of her family. She felt ashamed of herself for trying to deny her this, for thinking she could do it all on her own. She'd gone through most of her life trusting no one and relying only on herself. It wasn't until she'd moved to the village that she'd made friends she could count on, experienced relationships of any worth, got to know family she actually trusted. And she'd thrown all of that away for someone who'd made empty promises of love, she'd betrayed her closest friends and family, made her sister lie to cover up her wicked deeds. She didn't want her daughter growing up making the same mistakes as her, and if her family were able to look positively towards the future, look past her misdeeds for the sake of her baby, then she was going to try her hardest to do the same.


	27. Chapter 27

A very long one for my last chapter. Just an epilogue to go now. Hope people have enjoyed the story.

3rd March 2013 , Lough, Dingle Peninsula, County Kerry, Ireland

Whilst enjoying her first grilled cheese sandwich in over eight months, Chas sat with Aaron in the lounge and talked about the events of the last few days. She thanked her son for his actions, in rushing to her aid, in calling the family, in being her rock as he'd been for the last few months. She'd apologised for dragging him into her mess of a life, for endangering his relationship with the rest of the family.

Aaron let her talk, smiling at her words, revelling in her praise. Then he shook his head.

"I think I've finally got it, Mam, the Dingle way. And it's you that's taught that to me. Family loyalty"

Chas snorted, "yeah, a fine example of that I've been" she laughed humourlessly.

"All the years I lived in Emmerdale, I pushed you away. I hated you for so long and no matter how many times you told me you loved me, I could never forget the fact you walked out of my life without a second thought. When you'd lecture me on family loyalty, sticking together, it made me so angry – I thought you were the biggest hypocrite around".

"Aaron…I…" Chas tried to explain herself, surprised by the attack out of the blue, but as ever, completely unable to defend her actions. Her biggest regret in life was leaving Aaron, no matter how messed up she was at the time.

Aaron held a hand up to stop her. It had taken a few days to put his thoughts in order, and he wanted to get them out while he could. "Since I moved away, I've been able to look back and see things more objectively, without a new drama erupting every five minutes. Without you pecking my head all the time worrying about me. No offence."

Chas smiled to show none was taken.

"I realised that you'd tried your best to help me, even though I tried my best to push you away. And I was really vile to you sometimes. But you kept coming back, trying to make me see sense when I was being stupid, took me in when I was at my lowest, when I was hell-bent on self-destructing. And I never said thank you…"

"You did, Son," Chas replied, tears in her eyes, "at the airport, as you were leaving. When you told me you loved me…that made everything worth it. But being there for you…that's the bare minimum of what's expected as a mother. I've failed you, and the rest of the family…what I did was unforgiveable…"

"No, you did something really, really stupid. And yeah, you hurt your family. But you're not the first, and you won't be the last. And how many times have you had to forgive one of them for something they've done to you? Countless…but you always have."

"It's not the same…"

"It's exactly the same. Don't argue. And I think I probably would have lost respect from the rest of the family if I hadn't stuck up for you. Cain went crazy when he found out it was me that's been covering for you all this time, but I think he's got more respect for me now than he ever has. Which I don't really understand fully…"

"Welcome to the crazy world of Cain's logic" Chas laughed.

"He's read your book" Aaron told her, "the one you did for Evie. Everyone has…don't know how you feel about that, but it was out…"

Chas swallowed heavily, a bit embarrassed, "and how did Cain take it?"

"Don't tell him I told you this, he doesn't know I saw him…"

"Saw him what?"

"Break down. In tears. Full on, down on his knees sobbing".

"Right" was all Chas said.

They sat for a while in silence, until Aaron stirred from his musings. "You up for a drive? Marlon's left a shopping list for dinner, and it'd be good to get Evie out of the house for a bit. We can take your car".

"Haven't you got a snazzy rental car? Why would you want to take my old banger?"

"Ah, well, thanks to the expertise of two brilliant mechanics who have been quite bored, your old banger now runs like a dream" Aaron told her proudly.

"Eh?"

"Me and Cain have given it a good going over, replaced a load of old parts with new ones we got at a yard, generally spruced it up".

"Wow. Thanks. I've been wondering how long it was going to last before it conked out".

"Not being funny, but you need a decent car if you're living in the middle of nowhere".

"I know. Thanks love. I'll go and get Evie up and ready for our road trip" she squeezed his arm and made her way upstairs.

It was nice for Aaron to do something so normal as grocery shopping with his mum and sister, despite the fact that they were getting some funny looks from other shoppers.

"What's wrong with everybody?" he asked Chas as she reached for some nappies.

"I'm assuming Fianna's told half the area who I really am and they're all trying to find evidence of me dad on me face" Chas told them without any sign of annoyance.

"Well she shouldn't have" he said, trying to stare down an old lady who wasn't even trying to hide her voyeurism.

Evie gurgled and Chas smiled, leaning over her carrier and stroking her face. "I don't care, let them stare. They'll just see a mum taking her two babies shopping. Nowt wrong with that" she ruffled Aaron's hair, "is there?"

"There'll be summat wrong if you call me your baby again" Aaron harrumphed. But he saw the pride in his mum's eyes, and felt his own bubbling away inside.

"Ah, but you are, you're both my babies, always will be. And I love you both, more than anything" she ruffled his hair again and then dashed away with the trolley before he could retaliate.

It was dark when they arrived home, and they saw the Dingles' van and Cain's car parked outside the cottage. Chas took a deep breath and got out of the car, lifting Evie carefully from the back as Aaron carried the shopping bags. They made their way inside to find Belle, Lisa and Marlon in the living room, Lisa sat laughing on the sofa as Marlon and Belle tried to Irish dance to some music on the cd player. When they noticed the new arrivals, Belle shot over to greet them as Marlon sank onto the sofa next to Lisa, out of breath from laughing and dancing.

"Welcome home, Love" Lisa called to her, beaming, "you're not just getting back now are you?" she asked, confused.

"Thanks Lise," Chas replied, allowing Belle to take Evie out of her arms, "no, we've been to the shops. Have you had a good day out?" she asked, looking around for her brother.

"We went to Ross Castle, they had a medieval day" Belle told her excitedly as she bobbed Evie up and down, "they made Marlon dress up as a jester, it was ace".

Chas and Aaron laughed, "bet you looked the part" Aaron teased Marlon, who took it with good grace. Aaron took the shopping into the kitchen and came out with the portable heart rate monitor the hospital had given Chas. "Time to do this" he told his mum, passing her the machine. She sighed as she took it, plonking herself onto a chair and pulling the monitor out of its bag.

Lisa stood and moved over to Chas, "here y'are Love, pass it here, I'll do it" she said, sitting next to the younger woman and taking the machine from her. Chas gratefully allowed her to take over, happy when the reading said her blood pressure had dropped even further than before.

"Be right as rain in a few days" Lisa told her as she packed the machine back up, "we'll make sure you're fed up and fit and healthy before we go" she said. Chas tensed when Lisa mentioned them leaving. She didn't like the idea of being all on her own again. She'd been so lonely without her family and friends around her.

"Where's Cain?" she asked quietly.

Marlon pointed upstairs, "he's been up there since we got in".

Chas nodded and stood up, taking Evie back from Belle, "nap time sweetheart," she whispered to her daughter, kissing her cheek and holding her close as she made her way upstairs. She found Cain in the rocking chair in the nursery, sitting in the dark. She turned a small lamp on, bathing the room in a soft yellow glow, and changed Evie in silence. Once she had a new nappy on and was in a fresh babygro, she placed her carefully in her cot and watched her for a minute as she closed her eyes and drifted off like an angel.

Chas moved over to Cain and sat on a stool opposite him, waiting for him to talk. She sensed his nerves. Finally the silence was broken.

"what do you remember?" he asked gruffly.

"Pain. Anger. More pain. And someone holding my hand" she replied.

"I'm not angry with you anymore" he told her, holding her gaze.

"Was it you who held my hand?"

"Could've been Aaron. Could've been me. Do you still suck your fingers in your sleep?"

"Sometimes"

"You should come back"

"What?"

"To Emmerdale. You and Evie".

"No"

"Why not?"

"You might not be angry with me anymore, but I'm still angry at myself. And I know it'll be a long time, if ever, before Debs even thinks about forgiving me. I wouldn't torture her like that, making her watch every day as I bring up his kid in front of her. And I wouldn't do that to Evie either. I don't want her growing up hearing all sorts about her mum and dad. You know what that was like. She deserves better. I'd settle for knowing that I can maybe visit one day. And have visitors. See my family from time to time".

Cain nodded, satisfied, "just checking" he said.

"Checking what?"

"That you're still you".

"Yeah, I'm still me. Mostly. I've missed you, you know?"

"Mmm" Cain answered non-committedly.

"I threw my sim card away months ago. Then found myself wishing I hadn't so I could listen to your voice".

"What, you wanted to listen to me calling you a slag and threatening to kill you?"

"Well, no, obviously I wanted to listen to you telling me you love me, but that would have meant hell had frozen over, so…"

"Still as hilarious as ever then"

"Go on"

"What?"

"Admit it"

"What?"

"You've missed me. Go on, just say it. I won't tell anyone."

Cain picked up the handmade book from the side and flashed it at Chas, "nice stories" he said, changing the subject, "naughty twins with hair as black as ink"

"I was bored. Not much to do round here" she said, embarrassed.

"Dad called us that. Naughty twins, evil twins, twins born years apart…"

"Terrible twins, annoying twins…" Chas continued, "…always at each others throats…"

"…but if you take on one, you take on both…".

"That's the first time you've called him Dad in about twenty years" Chas observed.

"He thought we were possessed, since you put your hand through that window and I felt it from across the estate".

"Good job you did" Chas said, rubbing the scar on her arm as if it was still sore, "I was stuck and I'd severed an artery. If you hadn't found me, I'd have bled to death".

"He always said it was Faith" Cain said.

"Faith in what?" Chas asked, confused.

"Shadrach…Dad…always said it was Mum…Faith's gypsy blood, made us strange. Gave us a weird bond".

"Well if it's true, it's the only good thing that woman ever gave us" Chas replied, not bothering to hide her bitterness towards her mother.

"I'll talk to Debs," he said as he stood up, "she'll come round in time. Charity's already swinging".

He moved to the door, stopping briefly as he reached it to say quietly, "I missed you. But tell anyone and you're dead".

Once he'd left the room, Chas couldn't stop herself from doing a little dance of celebration, a huge grin on her face as she let relief and joy spread through her body. Maybe her future wasn't going to be so lonely after all.


	28. Chapter 28

Here's the epilogue. Thanks to everyone who's kept reading.

Epilogue

Saturday 25th August 2018 , Lough, Dingle Peninsula, County Kerry, Ireland

It was a warm day, the sun was shining and everyone was happy as they sat on deck chairs on the pebbled beach, watching the kids play together along the shore. The younger cousins were giving Evie her unbirthday bumps, and she couldn't stop laughing as Leo threw her tiny frame high into the air.

"He doesn't know his own strength" Paddy observed, laughing, nudging Marlon, "gets it from his dad".

"Do you want me to get them to stop?" Aaron asked his mum, worried about how roughly the kids were all playing. Evie had always been a tiny thing and he was very protective of her.

"Nah, she's fine," Chas assured him, "she loves rough-housing with her cousins. She's not shut up about playing British Bulldog with Soph and Molly at Christmas. Taught it to all her friends at school".

All of the adults laughed. Aaron went to back to the garden, where the older kids – Noah, Samson, and Sarah – and some of the younger adults – Aaron, Carl, Belle, Adam and Victoria – were kicking a football around.

It was the annual Unbirthday get together, which was a relatively new Dingle family tradition. It had started the August after Evie was born, when Belle insisted on spending the summer holidays with Chas and her newest cousin. Gennie heard about this and booked a week off work to take Sophie over to meet her Auntie. Aaron heard their plans and brought Carl over to meet some of the clan, it being much easier to get across the border to Ireland than chancing travelling to Emmerdale. Adam heard that Aaron was going over and talked his girlfriend, Victoria, his mum and her new fella – Cain – into a visit of their own. Chas had been overjoyed to have all the visitors, making sure all the rooms in the house were ready for their stay, and turning one of the old outhouses into a den suitable for sleeping in.

The year after, more Dingles came over; Sam brought Samson, Rachel and Archie. Lisa and Zak came along with Belle, and after much nagging, Charity let them take Noah as well.

Each year, more and more people came. It was named the Unbirthday get together because Evie didn't see her family on her actual birthday, so it was a good excuse to have a big party in warmer weather. Everyone brought tents or campers and slept out in the garden in the night-time (apart from Zak, Lisa and Diane, who were allowed beds because of their age, and Cain, who was allowed a bed because of his grumpiness).

Chas hadn't been back to the village since she'd left six years ago, but she'd allowed Evie to visit on a couple of occasions, staying with Gennie, Nikhil and their little girls, Sophie, Molly and Meg. She'd made tacit amends with Charity not long after Evie was born, but it had taken three years before they'd made up properly. Now, they spoke once a week on the phone and they saw each other regularly.

On Cain's suggestion, Chas used the money from her half of the Woolpack to start up a furniture business. Her hand-painted children's furniture was a hit both in Ireland and the UK, thanks to some clever online marketing, and she was able to distribute it on the cheap by striking a brilliant deal with Emmerdale Haulage. Once every three months, Charity took the largest truck of the fleet and delivered a shipment of Sharma and Sharma produce around the main cities of Southern Ireland. She'd then spend three days in Lough, drinking, eating and gossiping with her cousin. Then she'd load up the truck with all of the orders Chas had produced and dropped them at local warehouses on her way back.

The business made enough for Chas and Evie to live comfortably, and Chas couldn't have been happier with the set up as it meant she worked from home, to her own schedule, not having to put Evie into nursery. And now Evie was older, at school, she had more time for herself, which she quite often spent missing her daughter.

Aaron visited his mother and sister whenever he could, often bringing his boyfriend, Carl, who adored Evie and spoiled her rotten. Cain and Moira visited regularly through the year, as did Gennie and Nikhil. It took Debbie a lot longer to cave. She'd started allowing Cain to take Sarah and Liam over a few years ago, but hadn't felt ready to face Chas until last year. It had been tense at first, the two women going for a long walk together so they could chat in privacy. When they hadn't returned after two hours, Cain had started to worry that Debbie had killed Chas and buried her in the woods.

As they walked, Chas offered a repeat of the apologies she'd already offered several times over the years. But face to face, Debbie saw they were heartfelt. So much time had gone by, and Debbie had rebuilt her life without Cameron, found herself a new partner, one she could trust completely. Sarah was healthy and Liam, despite being a little terror, was her second joy. She found she could no longer hate her Auntie. And once the hate had gone, all that remained was love. They agreed that Cameron had fooled them both with his promises of love, and drew a line under all of the bad feeling that had existed. And then they chatted about children and families and fellas and the previous six years turned to dust. They returned back to the house smiling, and everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Aaron raised the giggling five-year-old high in the air and ran into the sea, shivering as the cold water hit his shins. He threw her up in the air and laughed as she seemed to hang there for a moment, before crashing into the water screaming. He heard a noise behind him and turned to see all of the kids racing towards him, shouting and screaming a collective war cry as they pelted into the sea and jumped on him, dragging him under the water. When he found his feet and lifted his head back out of the water, he found himself staring into the bright blue eyes of Evie.

"You don't wanna be messing with my gang Mr, sure you don't" the little girl told him, her cute Irish lilt making him slightly jealous – he'd always wanted an Irish accent. She grinned cheekily at him, and he couldn't help pulling her into a hug, she made him smile whenever she opened her mouth.

"Hey, Evie Rose" he murmured into her ear, noticing Chas walking on her own along the edge of the shore, "let's pretend we're sharks".

She nodded straight away, "who's the bait?" she asked, looking around at her cousins swimming in the water.

Aaron pointed at their mother and they shared an evil grin. Aaron went one way and Evie the other. They surrounded Chas before she'd noticed them and she could tell by the look on her youngest's face that she was up to something. She only had time to say "No!" before she was being thrown into the water and jumped on by her offspring, to a large cheer from everyone watching.

Chas was soaking wet, her hair was a mess, her makeup was running, but life couldn't have been much better.


End file.
